Nickelback’s “Everything Under the Sun,” the Canadian rockers ’ 11th studio album, dishes out exactly what the all-encompassing title suggests — within their familiar formula.
Hard-rockin’ arena anthems, radio-ready singles and bighearted ballads are present alongside star cameos and a few surprises. Here, frontman Chad Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger and drummer Daniel Adair take some chances and miss a few but are mostly in standard
form on their latest album out Friday.
Their recipe — glossy hooks, post-grunge rock riffs and gravelly vocals — has been criticized by some for being too predictable and repetitive. It has also been successful across their three-decade career, producing many chart toppers in the ‘00s. They’re not interested in stopping now. And at 12 tracks, Nickelback’s follow-up to 2022’s “Get Rollin’” is their lengthiest album since their 12-song debut, “Curb,” in 1996.
“Rattle The Cage” leads off as a loud love letter to concert-going fans, a reminder that Nickelback can rip through a rock song. Current Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 lends a blistering solo to the high-energy track that moves a mile a minute.
The anthemic “Lift Somebody Up” includes appearances by vocalists Sammy Hagar and Brent Smith, guitarists Zach Myers and Joe Bonamassa and drummers Tommy Lee and Charlie Benante. It has a lot of firepower but lacks edge.
The folksy, acoustic-heavy “Technicolor Steamboat” is the biggest eyebrow raiser. Actor Ryan Reynolds, who has collaborated previously with Nickelback, channels Gene Wilder’s classic Willy Wonka character in the intro, declaring: “You’re going to love this.” Talk of a golden ticket and papier-mâché mountains follows over a hypnotic synthesizer and gentle drums. Love it? Not quite, but it’s certainly different.
More typical of Nickelback, there’s plenty of romance and reflection.
Kroeger croons about a chance meeting — maybe destiny? — as a foot-tapping drum beat steers the instantly catchy “I Already Know.” The power ballad “Make Me Love You” and mid-tempo “Leave Me Behind,” with its layered harmonies and tone-setting slide guitar, would fit on any Nickelback album. “Simple Song,” backed by the soaring UK Rock Choir, urges world harmony because, as the lyrics state, “right now we're some kind of broken.”
“Chasin’ Famous” passes as a sequel to “Rockstar” from 2005’s “All the Right Reasons” with its satirizing of fame seekers. It’s not quite as fun or downright silly, but it bounces along with a head-bobbing guitar riff.
“Everybody chasin’ famous,” Kroeger sings. “That money / Can’t blame us / Everybody wants to taste it but just don’t know how.”
Nickelback certainly does. And “Everything Under the Sun” is everything they do best, haters be damned. Their fans will love it.
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“Everything Under the Sun” by Nickelback
Three and a half stars out of five.
On repeat: “Rattle The Cage,” “I Already Know,” “Make Me Love You”
Skip it: “Last Night Was Fun,” “Technicolor Steamboat”
For fans of: Power ballads, rocking out, looking at old photographs
