Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major

After six long years of putting up with their damn excuses, Third Eye Blind has finally released their fourth album, Ursa Major. The best part? It was totally worth the wait.
It’s so easy to dismiss Third Eye Blind in that wave of mid-90′s radio rock like Train and Matchbox 20, but people who have really listened to Third Eye Blind know what’s up. Even after six years of vacant, musical space, people will still defend them to the death. And this album just backs them up even more.

This album will be blared from open car windows on sun-filled summer days. This album will be played when life simply sucks. This album will be played when memories are made. That’s just what Third Eye Blind does.

It’s got it’s radio hits, including the first single, “Don’t Believe A Word”, a political commentary with a damn catchy tune. Speaking of that 90′s vibe, it’s got this Lit thing going on with it. Perhaps it’s the duality of the vocals. Remember Lit? The one hit wonders with “My Own Worst Enemy”? Yeah, I love that album, so fuck off. I love shitty 90′s music and you can’t stop me! Wow, went way off on that one, but yeah, other hits include the guitar and angst ridden, “Can’t You Take Me?”, and I’m thinking “Water Landing”. They released a track not that long ago called “Break Me” that I think eventually morphed into this song. I liked the tempo of “Break Me” more, but it’s still pretty sweet.

And don’t worry, there’s still those Jenkins style acoustic-inspired tracks that we’ve come to expect. “Dao of St. Paul”, “Monotov’s Private Opera”, and “Bonfire” come to mind, the last being the best of the three, with a sing-a-long chorus and Jenkins’ soothing vocals.

This album has something for everyone…catchy pop songs with parasitic choruses, politics, broken hearts, masturbation, and lesbians. Who knew? Really, it’s a well rounded album and it really has lived up to it’s six years of hype. There’s rumored to be another album coming out, Ursa Minor, comprised of the tracks that didn’t make the cut for Ursa Major. I was really wondering what happened to songs like “Red Star”, “Persephone”, and “Non-Dairy Creamer”. (I watched the track listing for this album on Wikipedia change almost monthly for the past six months) Hopefully, they won’t make us wait another six years for this one! B

Third Eye Blind’s Site