Search - Institute :: Distort Yourself

Rossdale goes new direction with Institute

J | Wash DC | 09/13/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When any artist is successful as a part of one unit and then later ventures out in another unit, it's impossible for one not to draw comparisons between the two. Think A Perfect Circle/Tool, think Audioslave/Soundgarden/Rage, and now one can think of Gavin Rossdale's new band Institute and his old band Bush.



For fans of Bush, you will find the skeleton of that band within Institute, but Rossdale has done some tweaking, often taking things in a new, experimental and heavier direction. Witness a song like 'When Animals Attack' or 'Bullet-Proof Skin'; songs like this rage harder, heavier, have more dissonance and are more ferocious than anything in Bush's catalogue. Of immediate notice is that "Distort Yourself" seems like the work of a collaberation more than it does of a dictator. In Bush, it seemed like whatever Rossdale said was law, but here the other instruments have more of a role. 'Boom Box', 'Save The Robots', 'Wasteland', and to an extent, 'Secrets and Lies' are all at their core driven by bass.



However, some of this new experimenting leads to a problem which appears more and more evident as "Distort Yourself" plays on; the album suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. What exactly is Rossdale going for here? A heavier rock band? A more poppy direction? A band that works in loose grooves? Claims can be made for all of these, often within the same song. Sometimes this can work in a band (see the Mars Volta), but Institute doesn't really pull it off. 'Boom Box' glides along with a great, loose verse with a fantastic melody before the punkish chorus comes in and wrecks it. I think half of the blame can be placed on producer Paige Hamilton and guitarist Chris Traynor, both of Helmet fame. Their influence can definitely be felt with a lot of the guitar work; the album features a lot of stop-start guitar riffs, too many, in fact. This certainly puts a dent in the quality of the album's first half and makes the songs tend to flow weakly. Yes, the songs still work (with the exception of 'Information Age'), but their effectiveness and power are nearly robbed. The other half of the blame, I'm sad to say, can be placed on Rossdale himself. This simply isn't the strongest batch of songs that he's written. Yes, there are some songs of very high quality here ('Ambulances' is a flat-out stunner, 'Secrets and Lies' is killer, and 'Wasteland' is one time on the album when Rossdale's amalgamation of styles clicks) but for the most part the writing isn't as strong as it could have been, which is really frustrating because ALL of the songs here had major potential to be 100% great rock songs, but just didn't pull it off.



Two things save the album though. The first is the fact that Rossdale still knows how to write a killer chorus. Five or six of the songs here don't make much of an impression until the chorus hits, then it's ecstasy. The second thing is Rossdale's voice; no matter what happens during the course of a song, be it good or bad, his voice ties it all together. I'm pretty sure a song like 'Seventh Wave' or 'Come On Over' would fall apart without Rossdale singing.



All in all, Institute offers a different direction for Rossdale than he has previously gone in, and it IS nice to see that he's still changing and growing as an artist. Even though the album isn't an across the board success, it's a solid debut and I would love to see where Institute goes in the future."

Helmet In The Bush?

Andrew Estes | Maine | 10/02/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Being a Helmet fan and a moderate Bush fan, I just had to check out Gavin Rossdale's new group, Insititute. Institute features not only the ex-Bush man on vocals, but Helmet guitarist Chris Traynor (who also played in the most recent line-up of Bush, as well as Orange 9mm) and Helmet mastermind Page Hamilton handling production duties. So if it sounds a lot like Helmet and Bush, don't be surprised. Hearing "Bullet-Proof Skin" (a song which took a while to grow on me) had me expecting more than just that simple equation. What "Distort Yourself" offers, however, isn't exactly something new...



First off, the fact that they put the two strongest and most dynamic songs ("Bullet-Proof Skin" and "When Animals Attack") at the front of the album doesn't exactly do them any favors. This strong opening primes us up for something really special, as these are very unique and exciting songs. Sadly, what follows is what I knew the album would be all along: Gavin Rossdale fronting Helmet. Honestly, that's all it sounds like, and the minute "Come On Over" kicks in, you'll know it. Not to say the rest of the album isn't worth hearing. Despite some really bad lyrics -- "Deep fried in the heat of your love"(?) -- there are some interesting and catchy musical ideas. To me, the one song that stands out is the unusually diverse "Boom Box." Again, the lyrics aren't much to brag about, but musically, it is very entertaining. The production, along with the mixing, is quite crisp when you consider Hamilton's typical, grittier work. The sound is very far removed from that of Bush, in my opinion, so if you came as a fan of that group, be prepared for something different.



Right now seems to be the time for 90's groups that have somewhat faded to re-emerge. Look at the run away success of Green Day's "American Idiot," while Weezer and Foo Fighters are doing good business going into their second decade. Then, of course, supergroups like Audioslave and Velvet Revolver, and to a lesser extent, even the mild-success of Life Of Agony and, of course, Helmet shows that the 90's aren't quite dead. The music scene today just stinks, there's no way around it. So having these artists from a better time (in my opinion) is perfectly welcome. Bush may not have been the most creative or original group on the planet, and Helmet's best days may be a distant memory, but combining the two ain't such a bad idea. Insititute's first effort may not do much to establish themselves as a "new" group, but at the very least, it's a breath of fresh air. A reminder that real rock and roll still exists."

Institute=A hard dose of rock ingenuity

Underwear X | Reno, Nv United States | 12/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're a fan of Bush or not, you'll find that Institute has a lot to offer. Not just another mundane 'transplant band', Institute shows promsing potential with this excellent first release. I have never listened to Helmut, though I can definitley see the influece of Bush in here with Gavin's songwriting. I admit that the first couple times that I listened to the album I was a bit sketchy, but you will come to find out that the album is deeper than it first lets on, with excellent crescendos and hard rock that will have you screaming in your car, making other people wonder what the hell you are listening to.Highly recommended, this album kicks ass."