Them vs. You vs. Me (CD - 2007)

Finger Eleven: Scott Anderson (vocals); Rick Jackett, James Black (guitar); Sean Anderson (bass guitar); Rich Beddoe (drums).

Personnel: Scott Anderson (vocals); Rick Jackett, James Black (guitar); Rich Beddoe (drums).

Audio Mixer: Johnny K.

Recording information: Groovemaster Studios, Chicago, IL.

Photographer: Andrew MacNaughtan.

On its fourth studio album, 2007's THEM VS YOU VS ME, Finger Eleven focuses on melody, songcraft, and eclecticism more than ever before. While past outings showcased the Canadian group's competent heavy-rock chops, this transitional album finds the ensemble stretching out somewhat stylistically, as is immediately apparent on the funky opener, "Paralyzer."

There have always been vague underpinnings of funk in Finger Eleven's rhythms, but it still comes as a bit of a shock that "Paralyzer," the opening track of their fourth album, Them vs. You vs. Me, finds the Canadian quintet embracing the full-on disco-rock that started to emerge when they released their last album in 2003. Four years later, this sound isn't exactly passé -- plenty of bands are still pushing it -- but it's not exactly fresh either, except within the context of Finger Eleven, where it does add some welcome new dimension to their traditional '90s alt-rock sound. Sure, it's hard not to see it as a little bit of a desperate bid for relevancy, but even if the move comes across as calculated, the occasional dash of disco-rock gives Them vs. You vs. Me a little bit of needed new hue to a collection of otherwise colorless but capable by-the-book alt-rock, pitched partway between Stone Temple Pilots and Matchbox Twenty. Finger Eleven are pros, so they can deliver Oasis-styled anti-love songs like "I'll Keep Your Memory Vague" or Live-inspired anthemic ballads like "Change the World" with as much workmanship as their grungy rockers, but they need something to stand apart from the pack -- and the addition of awkward funk rhythms to the likes of "Lost My Way" nearly accomplishes that. So, the variety of rhythms, along with the increasing emphasis on acoustic-based power ballads, gives Them vs. You vs. Me the greatest musical variety of any Finger Eleven record, but they remain boxed in by their good intentions: they remain a group that's too polite too dislike but too well-mannered to remember. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize