Hoobastank – “For(n)ever”

Rating: 5/10

Unfortunately for Hoobastank, they’re victims of their own success. The incredibly successful single “The Reason” received heavy radio play, but annoyed a large portion of the band’s fans to the point where they lost interest.

It’s a shame, because the old fan base would enjoy the well-composed tracks “I Don’t Think I Love You,” “So Close, So Far” and “The Letter” on the band’s latest effort, “For(n)ever.”

The album contrasts the tail-end of the failed relationship the entire disc is written about by getting very little wrong. On the other hand, the songs are lacking that “kick” found in the band’s debut.

“The Letter” is a particularly good track, but it’s the kind of song you would love to listen to on your headphones when you’re feeling jilted as opposed to rocking out to while it’s on the radio. The song is about the sincere kind of jilting, not the property-destroying advocating songs written by someone who never took the time to analyze what went wrong with a relationship.

The tune “Sick of Hanging On” is a very clear example of how Hoobastank’s reliance on old tricks doesn’t work without a solid hook. The track uses an alternating riff technique the band perfected in the songs “Crawling in the Dark” and “Running Away.”

The alternating riff technique, as the name suggests, alternates between two different riffs in the verse and chorus sections of a song. When executed correctly, the technique produces a very long melody that really catches the ear.

Linkin Park notoriously uses a similar alternation technique between sections of a song that involves quickly switching between “soft” and “heavy” melodies. The popularity of the technique is clearly based on record sales.

Though a vast improvement over the band’s junior album “Every Man for Himself,” the latest songs fall into the same trap; combined, they’re boring.