Alice In Chains – Jar Of Flies – Review

Alice in Chains

Jar of Flies (Columbia)
by Scott Hefflon

Wonderful. Expect the phrase “Alice Unchained” to spill from the lips and off the pages of every music source with which you come into contact. Alice in Chain‘s EP ,Jar of Flies, is acoustic, or unplugged, as per the hip jargon. The EP has a moody swishing quality and the vocals rarely break a sweat. The soothing despair laps like gentle waves against the occasional wah-soaked guitar or mournful voice box statement. (OK, so it’s not 100% acoustic. This ain’t Peter, Paul and Mary.) Layne, amidst all the glamour of being a name-brand hotcake, can still sit in a dark room striving to be oblivious to the hype and croon: “And yet I fight this battle all alone/no one to cry to and no place to call home/ my gift of selfless rape/my privacy’s raped/and yet I find repeating in my head/ if I can’t be my own/I’d feel better dead.” Doesn’t sound much like a happy happy rock star leading the good life, huh?

A tide-me-over EP is as good a place as any to stretch the boundaries the media have imposed upon a band. That’s exactly what Jar of Flies does. It’s got mournful dirges with multi-layer vocals swallowing the end of every line (like the snake that eats its own tail) and lonely guy themes that watch the world from behind a wall of self-imposed isolation. “People wonder why you get defensive,” says Cantrell in a rare moment of talking to the monster media. “People print the stupidest shit about you. We’re here to play music, so let’s talk about the music, not our personal lives. I appreciate it when someone talks to you like a person, not a fucking poster.”

So back to the music… The seven songs range from good old Alice darkness (without the massive powerchord brimstone) to orchestrated introspection trips to the jangly pop “No Excuses.” Ahem, “Whale and Wasp” is a scenic instrumental and then the highlights: Bluesy lullaby “Don’t Follow” in which Layne’s voice actually slips into the throaty jam with misery laden lyric and a damn harmonica accompaniment, and “Swing on This,” a catchy, shmaltzy tune from the Facelift era with hell’s barber shop quartet and skittish guitar leads dancing into the fade out.

This review doesn’t mention drugs or furniture tossing. We didn’t hound them for clever quotes and burnout photos. Kill the idol mentality and let them write good music. The EP is being released January 25. Get it, groove with it, and give Alice a break.