For its entire existence Fuel has been content fitting snugly into the radio-friendly hard rock genre. However, the band's last two releases, 1998's "Sunburn" and 2000's "Something Like Human," simply featured incredibly strong songs.
Those two albums may not have brought anything new to the genre, but they managed to bring together all the best aspects of it. "Sunburn" was perhaps one of the best albums in its genre to be released in the mid to late '90s.
It's hard to find fault with "Shimmer," and nearly impossible to do so with SLH's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)," the band's first #1 single.
"Hemorrhage" was a perfectly crafted epic, a prime example of what guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell is capable of, both lyrically and musically. Sure, for the most part the rest of SLH fell just short of the greatness of its predecessor, but Bell's potential was evident.
And then Fuel released "Won't Back Down" for the Daredevil movie soundtrack to radio and TV. While frontman Brett Scallions' new-and-disgustingly-white-trash facial hair was of note, perhaps even more disturbing was just how terrible the song was.
Instead of complex rhythms and intricate guitar parts, Bell delivered nearly the exact same detuned drivel that all nu-metal bands these days love oh so dearly. Could this be the same band responsible for the mightily impressive "Sunburn" and SLH? Could Bell really have lost nearly everything that made his songwriting special?
Evidently, yes.
If Fuel's new album "Natural Selection" could be summed up in one word, it would be "generic." Or perhaps "mediocre." NS isn't a bad album; it's just not a good one.
The band's lack of stylistic innovation, which has plagued all of their prior releases, has finally evolved into a serious problem.
There's nothing on NS that hasn't been played or sung better by another band out there today, Fuel included. It would be a crime to call the album's first single, the sickeningly weak "Fall On Me," catchy. And it doesn't get much better than that anywhere else here.
Fuel's strength has always laid with Bell and Scallions, but neither delivers the goods as well this time around. Good luck trying to distinguish Bell's solos from Tony Rombola's (Godsmack) or any other guitar player out there who loves his wah pedal.
Bell's style no longer has even a hint of uniqueness. Moreover, his lyrics have taken a step back. He has touted "Quarter," the album's only standout track, as being the darkest song he's ever written. Maybe it is brooding and foreboding, but it's also somewhat juvenile.
The lyrics on this album are more indicative of a songwriter who's just begun to grow up, such as SR-71's Mitch Allen, rather than an already accomplished one who has time and time again proved his maturity ("Bittersweet," "Sunburn" and "Jesus or a Gun," to name a few).
In the past, Scallions' voice was immediately recognizable, but his vocals on NS lack much of his Scallions-ness. It's more polished than it ever has been, but at the same time it seems to have been at the cost of his distinctive inflection and delivery. The band's rhythm section, consisting of Jeff Abercrombie (bass) and Kevin Miller (drums), has always been solid yet completely unremarkable. Miller's performance, however, seems to be lacking as much power as "Sunburn" or SLH.
If Fuel had released NS back in 1998 instead of "Sunburn," this would be a very respectable album. As a third major label release, however, faced with the task of living up to the band's prior efforts, NS fails absolutely miserably. And the worst part? Scallions still has that horrible facial hair. Dude, please just go shave.
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