It's too loud, I'm too old

The Deftones have set themselves apart from white bread nu-metal contemporaries Staind and Linkin Park by embracing art-rock conventions established by such acts as the Cure and My Bloody Valentine back in the '80s. This experimentation is a welcome change from the cookie-cutter alt-rock heard on modern radio, but also tends to jumble the overall soundscape of the band's records.\nPicking up where the beautiful metal excess of White Pony left off, the self-titled album doesn't so much expand the group's sound as it does tweak it. It's as if these guys are riding their own trench coattails, only this time, the volume is cranked to 11. \nThe Deftones most often succeed when straying from conventionality; "Lucky You" and "Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event" edge the band much closer to its art-rock forbearers. Though, the more traditional, anthemic pop of lead single "Minerva" also rocks, and if ever there was a tune just begging to be unleashed in stadiums across the country, this would be it. The Deftones stumble when grasping onto staples of the metal genre. Songs such as "When Girls Telephone Boys" are too damned loud, grating and meat-headedly stupid. A band as skillful and promising as the Deftones should be above such machismo bullshit posturing, albeit intermittent. Perhaps at 21, I'm just too old.