Back on track

As their newest album tops the charts (the fifth straight to do so), Dave Matthews Band have incontrovertibly established themselves as a pop band for the masses: a saccharine medley of folk rock melodies and jam-band extended improvisations.
Although they may have mainstream appeal, their sound is far from kitschy.

In “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King,” the band have succeeded in making an impressively accessible genre-crossing magnum opus.

Matthews and company begin with a welcome kick of jazz in the opener, “Grux.” Starting off with a simpering trumpet and staggered percussion, it’s nearly impossible not to recall Miles Davis’ virtuosic “Bitches Brew.” The bold move should be applauded for its impeccable ability to set the mood for the rest of the album: Mardi Gras meets funeral procession.

Saxophonist LeRoi Moore only died in August, but the band performs in perfect harmony.

“Funny The Way It Is,” the album’s first single, takes off when the quick, minimalist electric and acoustic guitars kick in along with Matthews’ vocals, and the song becomes immediately stuck-in-your-head catchy.

Matthews’ naked lyrics reveal his vulnerable state of grieving for his recently deceased bandmate. In “Spaceman,” Matthews sings, “I pray to heaven to keep my place / Till I look to the mirror and saw the Devil’s face.”

Throughout, Matthews dwells on death and grieving. In “Time Bomb,” he emotes “Baby, when I get home / I want to believe in Jesus / Hammer in the final nail / Help me pick up the pieces.” As the album’s best, “Time Bomb” attacks the disastrous American war efforts in the Middle East, the futility of death and the ideals of faith.

Instead of hitting the bottle to get over Moore’s death and the sad state of the world, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” sounds like self-induced therapy. Yet the band have created a powerfully cathartic album without making it personal or original. Matthews’ unfocused use of death and grieving appeal to all but fails to evoke true empathy in listeners.

Despite its few flaws, this release will likely touch fans’ hearts.