Filter isn’t exactly a band. In fact, it’s more of a two-man operation led by Richard Patrick and Brian Liesegang.
You may have heard Patrick’s lead guitar talents if you happened to catch him in concert as part of nine inch nails in the early part of the last decade. After Patrick and Liesegang met, they decided to continue with the industrial rock tradition and record the band’s debut album, Short Bus. It would be the only album the two would collaborate on together. During the time following the release of the debut album, the two toured in support of supergroups like White Zombie and Smashing Pumpkins in addition to hosting their own tour.
Short Bus was sort of like the softer side of industrial rock music. But, Filter’s second album, Title of Record was just about pure pop. It was sickly sweet, and definitely not my taste. Therefore, fans of industrial music are left with Short Bus, an album that was allotted both critical and commercial success.
What Short Bus gave the world was a track entitled ”Hey Man, Nice Shot”. There’s a much less interesting recording on the track being broadcast on the radio these days, but the original was driving and loud. It was anything but pop. Although, the catchy hooks and riffs did lend themselves to a genre of rock that was on it’s deathbed in 1995—grunge.
As I already mentioned, ”Hey Man, Nice Shot” was a popular track. It found it’s way into MTV’s Buzzbin and onto rock stations everywhere. But, what’s really interesting about the track is the story behind it. Some people think it’s a reference to Kurt Cobain. Not so. The track apparently is a response to the suicide of former Pennsylvania state treasurer R. Budd Dwyer. Dwyer killed himself just a day before he was to be sentenced on bribery and conspiracy charges. That interesting tidbit of information aside, ”Hey Man, Nice Shot” is a great track…the best of a pretty decent album (notice, I didn’t say “great”). With a bass guitar and drum machine backed by electronic noise, this song gets underway with a bang (sorry about the pun). Patrick’s voice then adds the necessary element to complete the song. The track growls and screams with emotion…especially at the chorus when Patrick yowls in a Reznor-esque manner. I really do enjoy this song. It’s fun and amazingly interesting. Here’s one of the verses to whet your appetite:
For the most part they're right
But look how they all got strong
That's why I say hey man, nice shot
What a good shot man
As a follow up on the album, ”Dose” is pretty good. Sure, it can’t live up to the first track…but, it’s still decent enough to be worthy of a listen or two. The beginning actually reminds me a bit of Black Sabbath mixed with some sort of punk elements. This is a heavy metal track with definite industrial influences. This is a loud, electronic rock song. Patrick’s vocals are good, although it’s important to note that he’s not exactly the best singer in the world. He’s just good in certain contexts (like rock music).
”Under” is another industrial rock song…the opening chords are reminiscent of Tool in my opinion while the song breaks into some nine inch nails-type sounds. I enjoy this song more than the last. It’s sparsely instrumented, but what makes this song better than average is the heavy electric guitar and fast tempo. This is a must listen track…sitting just behind the first in quality.
A bizarre answering machine message begins the track ”Spent”. The song is then joined by electronic cymbals and a very angry sounding Patrick. The track is paced at an oddly mid-tempo speed. I do prefer Filter tracks that are angrier, louder, and faster. It’s still a decent track, just not as good as some of the others. I don’t really like the fact that the track seems to skip around at times in feel and in tempo. You may like it, I just don’t.
”Take Another” is loud and angry. Both are attributes I enjoy in both industrial and rock music. Patrick growls his way through this guitar-heavy track accented by an actual melody of sorts and heavy drums. I would rate this particular song at about the middle of all of the songs contained on this album.
I also enjoy ”Stuck in Here”. To be quite honest, this little ditty is actually a grunge song along the lines of slow and quirky songs from bands like Nirvana. What I really enjoy about this song is the slow tempo paired with Patrick’s trembling voice. This track features just a soft electric guitar and soft drums. Like I said, it’s different…good, but different.
Filter returns to it’s industrial roots with ”It’s Over”. Again, this is a good track. It’s actually one of the better ones on this album. I like the loud, obnoxious, and dense guitars mixed with the heavy drums. This is the kind of rock music I like. The louder, the better. It’s a short track, but nonetheless good.
In addition to liking the first track, a lot of people like the eighth, ”Gerbil”. I think the reason for this is that it’s got an interesting sort of distortion to Patrick’s voice. The song goes from soft during the verses to loud and angry during the chorus. This change is both catchy and interesting. I still can’t say I ‘love’ the song, but I do like it sufficiently enough to recommend that you listen to it.
”White Like That” reminds me a bit of Alice in Chains with the growling guitars and Patrick’s exceptionally angry voice. I like the distortion in the choruses and I also enjoy the entire feel of the song. It’s a track that sounds like both grunge and industrial music. Therefore, I think I can safely classify it as ‘rock,’ pure and simple.
”Consider This” is another quirky combination of alternative music and industrial music. I enjoy it, although it’s important to note that as the album goes on, the songs begin to blend into one another. It’s not brilliant by any means, just moderately okay. The last track of the album is ”So Cool”. The song is actually Patrick’s apparent attempt to connect with his guitar-driven alternative music self. I like the track, although it doesn’t seem to fit in among the other loud and obnoxious songs. On it’s own, it could have been a hit. As a part of this album, it’s an odd outsider.
As is apparent, this is a good album. It’s not great because it seems that Filter lacks direction and a clear view of what this album is supposed to be. There are two songs I really enjoy, the first and last, and then there are nine songs that are good but not great. It’s too bad that Filter is no longer the way it was on this album. Future collaborations between the duo could’ve proven great. Instead, music listeners are left with a bunch of songs thrown together with no real vision.
On the merits of the songs and because of the lack of direction on Short Bus, I am giving this album a weakish 4/5 stars. It could’ve been better. I only recommend this album to alternative fans. It’s too soft for true industrial fans and too hard for pop listeners. I like it…sort of.
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