It's now time for our 142nd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with no new albums on the immediate horizon, let's dip into the archives to complete our look at inactive local/Toronto indie/punk quartet Treble Charger's original discography, courtesy of their fifth album "Detox"! Released on August 20th, 2002 through ViK Recordings and BMG Canada (and in February 2003 in the US via Virgin Records), "Detox" was produced by Matt Hyde (who also produced 2000's "Wide Awake Bored") and it was recorded at Phase One and Signal to Noise in Toronto, and Metalworks Studios in Mississauga. Treble Charger are represented here by the same lineup as on "Wide Awake Bored", including current singer/guitarists Greig Nori & Bill Priddle, and the since departed Rosie Martin & Trevor McGregor on bass and drums respectively. Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley and No Warning singer Ben Cook also provide backing vocals on the opening track.
While selling less than it's predecessor, this album continued it's pop punk-centric path, and it would go Gold in Canada, receive a 2003 Juno Award nomination for Rock Album Of The Year, and get a lot of airplay on MuchMusic, especially for the opening track. Note that CD copies of "Detox" featured enhanced content when put into a computer's CD drive, which amounted to a splash screen to send you to a "secret site" on ViK Recordings' website. All of the content posted there was likely taken down in 2004 when ViK merged with Sony and/or Treble Charger went on hiatus (click here for my run-through of what we know about the enhanced content.) Also, note that the American pressings of "Detox" featured an altered track listing that changed the order of songs, omitted the last two tracks, and replaced them with "Brand New Low" and "Business" from "Wide Awake Bored".
Digital sale/streaming copies and this review reflect the Canadian release. Speaking of which, "Detox" is available on all major streaming services, and can be bought for $9.49 in mp3 format on
Amazon, and physical copies still turn up at local music stores. Song names below are linked to their official
YouTube copies. With 11 songs running for about 38 minutes in length, let's begin this long-awaited review! "Detox" begins with the album's first single
"Hundred Million", which remains one of Treble Charger's best known singles, having topped the MuchMusic Countdown for a week in October 2002, won two MuchMusic Video Awards in 2003, and appeared on the NHL 2003 and Splashdown: Rides Gone Wild video game soundtracks, not to mention
it's popular music video featuring Avril Lavigne & members of Sum 41, Gob, and The Swollen Members.
Lyrically about going against someone in a position of power who doesn't speak for the population at large, "Hundred Million" is an up-tempo and often aggressive punk track that is arguably the heaviest and fastest single they've ever released. For me, that actually takes away from their melodic qualities, so I don't prefer it to (for example) "American Psycho". When Greig has room to actually sing, the song benefits, and he and Bill mesh well on the heavy riffs. Definitely a fun and in-your-face opener, but I think it's straying from the proven "Wide Awake Bored" narrative. Second is "What You Want", which seems to be about disagreements in a relationship, but resilience to maintain the high ground. This song clicks better for me as a pure skate punk song that I can easily picture in a video game, and it has a very catchy chorus and bouncy riff to go along with it!
Trevor's drumming is really solid, Greig sings with purpose, and overall, the song flat out just works for genre fans, aside from maybe getting a little repetitive in the home stretch, and I do prefer it to the opener! Next on the CD is
"Can't Wake Up", which is tied for shortest song on the album with tracks #6 & #10. Lyrically alluding to personal experiences with mental health and depression, the song proper contrasts from that with another up-tempo punk rock structure, and like on "What You Want", everything comes together nicely with fun guitar work, well suited bass from Rosie, and effective vocals that match the song, and it even includes a short guitar solo, which is always nice to hear in pop punk! The ending is a little drawn out, but for my genre tastes, the album is slowly improving as it goes along, which is very promising at this early stage!
Fourth on "Detox" is "The First Time", which is another song about a strained relationship, this time directed at someone who is controlling and dishonest. This is the first song on offer with Bill on lead vocals, and like the songs he sang on "Wide Awake Bored", this is more of a Foo Fighters-esque power pop number without a major punk influence. Fun and upbeat song despite the lyrical themes, and Bill's vocals suit this style of music well, with the drums keeping the rhythm up, but my musical tastes do run towards the prior two tracks. Next is the CD's third and final single "Ideal Waste Of Time", which again dips into the failing relationship well, here about a partner toying with someone and not being respectful of them. A punk number with Greig singing, the swing-esque tempo gives this song a relatively unique bounce, but it's an odd meld between the genre and lyrics.
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I can see this song getting stuck as an earworm, but despite solid musicianship (especially on guitar), it's not the most entertainingly cohesive song here, and may have benefited from being simpler musically. We hit the album's mid-point with
"Hole In Your Head", which is about trying to help someone through personal trauma, only they don't really seem to want to get better. Bill's back on lead vocals here, and as such, this song is back in power pop territory, but this is an improvement on "The First Time", partially helped by it's speedy pacing contrasting really well with the controlled, soft vocals that play really well into the lyrical themes. Aside from the bridge, the song's always in forward motion, and it allows for Rosie and Trevor to get some good time to shine! Solid track overall that doesn't overstay it's welcome, and one of Bill's stronger vocal efforts in Treble Charger's punk era!
Song #7 is "Don't Believe It All", which was the album's second single, and also had it's own music video parodying Japanese kaiju movies. This one is about not trusting someone who betrayed and lied to you, and it's the softest song with Greig on vocals yet, though it's definitely not a ballad. I've always found the chorus to be very catchy, though the verses are kind of sleepy and don't stick in your head the same. Once those pare past, the parts start to equal the sum, and I appreciate the brief guitar solo! Not a bad song, despite a slow beginning, and honestly, I come back to this one more than "Hundred Million". Next is "Over My Head", which is about trying to identify the source of one's bad day and mood, and is not to be confused with the Sum 41 song from that same year that Greig produced. Rather, this has spare, almost campfire-style verses before ramping up the punk content in the choruses.
Uniquely featuring Greig
and Bill on vocals (Bill sings during the bridge before the guitar solo), I really like this song too, and it effectively flips the switch in tone and tempo without sacrificing the message, and Trevor's drumming on the heavier parts is well paced! Definitely a sleeper pick at this stage, but I do prefer Sum 41's "Over My Head". Ninth is
"Tired Of It Anyway", yet another song about relationship discord, here reflecting not believing someone's words given past experience. This fits into the same mold as early songs like "What You Want" as a straightforward pop punk number (Greig's last on lead vocals) and while nothing shocking structurally, it gets the job done, including some of Rosie's best bass work yet, but I'm not 100% on board with the chorus' repetitive structure. Fun song overall though! The penultimate song here is
"The Downward Dance", a metaphorical song about paying to do the title act.
This is another Bill-sung Foo Fightersy number that makes good use of it's wall of sound without getting too heavy, and it has a strong rhythm section and upbeat melody that work to it's advantage! It's a short song, but it doesn't overstay it's welcome, and it's a nice change of pace, but again, I do lean towards the punk songs. "Detox" closes with it's longest track, the 7+ minutes long "Drive", which seems to be about taking a drive to clear your head from ongoing personal issues, with driving analogies to explain conflicted feelings. The first half is standard fare for a late-era Treble Charger song with Bill on vocals, if somewhat punkier than usual for him, but the second half is an extended slow instrumental jam. This may represent driving, but I don't really feel that it adds to the song proper, and ends the CD on a meandering note. However, the first half is a strong rocker while it lasts with solid guitar work!
So, what are my final thoughts for Treble Charger's last album (to date)? Overall, I definitely like this album, as will fans who hopped on the bandwagon with "Wide Awake Bored", but I'm not sure that I'd rank it higher in enjoyment. I'm not sure whether it's about equal or slightly lesser, but it's definitely in the ballpark. Like on the preceding album, there were seven punk-leaning songs with Greig on vocals and four power pop songs with Bill singing, and while those genre aspects were definitely emphasized with less experimentation, this felt like "Wide Awake Bored 2" in some respects, rather than it's own animal. That's not necessarily bad, just an observation. Songs like "What You Want", "Can't Wake Up", and "Over My Head" struck me as better and catchier songs overall than the actual singles that came from this CD, and I mostly liked Bill's songs a fair amount, and it's a shame that none that he sang from these albums ever got a single release.
The musicianship was solid, and Rosie and Trevor had a bunch of moments to shine, which is definitely welcomed! Aside from a lack of growth and a too-great emphasis on lyrics about relationship issues, "Detox" is a fun punk album on it's own merits, but if you've followed Treble Charger's career, you know that punk wasn't really Bill's thing and it was a factor in his departure from the band in 2003. If Greig & Bill do release their planned sixth album down the line, I have no idea how much of a factor punk will be on it, but this phase of the band gave them their biggest commercial success, and it made me a fan of theirs, so I'll always appreciate "Wide Awake Bored" & "Detox" for what they brought to the table. Buy or stream "Detox" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review!
That said, what will we be reviewing on the site in May 2021? I don't yet know, but if nothing new from metal, hard rock,
or punk acts comes out, we'll dip into the archives. In any event, due
to our 6 month anti-bias buffer period, it won't be anything from
Swampgut or The Bear Hunters. Stay tuned for our next "Where Are The New
Albums?" post this weekend for possible hints, and for a new news post
of some kind by month's end! Thanks everyone!
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