Derek Grant, perhaps best known as the drummer from Alkaline Trio, released his solo album ‘Breakdown’ on Red Scare Industries last month. He’s somewhat of a punk-rock legend, having previously appeared for bands such as the Gaslight Anthem, Face to Face, and the Vandals, and it’s therefore not surprising to find shades of three chord punk throughout. These eight tracks are far more stripped down than previous efforts though and Derek’s more reflective side is allowed to shine through.
The album starts with a ‘Dookie’ era Green Day vibe as ‘Holiday Breakdown’ is a short and sweet two minute acoustic pop song. It’s perhaps a bit linear in approach and structure, and that applies to large parts of this album, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless. ‘Waiting For The End of The World’ then kicks in with a heavy Springsteen vibe as Grant’s gravelly vocals and delivery really do remind you of ‘the Boss’, it does lack a touch of energy but the strong chorus vocal melody gets you through.
From there the album slows dramatically into ‘Got A Feeling’ and ‘Turn And Walk Away’ and becomes much more of a mellow folk-rock album than you might expect. You have well worked acoustic guitar riffs, but a simple beat and very little life in the vocals and the lyrics. In ‘Love Is Bad Dream’ for example Derek meekly states that he “wants to scream” but you struggle to hear any genuine passion coming through there. There’s no change in tempo, nothing direct, and nothing for us to really get excited about either.
We get that this is a tale of lost love and personal hardship, but there are far more compelling singer-songwriters out there penning similar stories. As a listener we want to side with the broken voice, hear their anger and frustration and root for them to come out as winners at the end of it all. Unfortunately Derek Grant can’t seem to raise the enthusiasm in himself on ‘Breakdown’ and in turn this ends up being one of the most forgettable albums we’ve heard in a long time.
TOM BECK