Second Coming

(Capitol)
by Jon Sarre

Out of the various practitioners of the Seattle grunge sound, the band I always sorta liked the most (excludin’ the ones I actually listen to like Mudhoney and, sometimes, Nirvana) is Alice in Chains. Their spooky harmonies set to sludgy sub-Led Sabbath is usually more listenable than Pearl Jam’s AOR-ready whiny warbles, the Melvins’ drug rock glop or Soundgarden’s rock-star excess recast as we’re-just-regular-guys absurdities, but, seriously folks, Layne Staley and whomever’s schtick bein’ a brite spot in the contemp. rock radio mire don’t make it nothin’ more than one of the dullest bulbs on the X-Mas tree. Popularity-wise, though, that’s a whole ‘nother story. By the looks of all them 7 Mary Days of the Creeds out there, not to mention Jerry Cantrell’s suddenly viable solo career (which sounds, uh, vaguely familiar, to say the least), hell, we got ourselves Alice and Change (as my Dad once misunderstood their moniker)! Add Seattle’s slow-learnin’ Second Coming to the playlist (or so says their press-pack, heavy as it is with quotes from trade publishing dorks from format radio, USA). Movers and hand-shakers like A.R. Guy at KBZO in Sacramento say, “it’ll fit in nicely between the ad spots.” Understand that we’re not talkin’ ’bout reality here, if we were, you wouldn’t even be readin’ ’bout show biz cocksuckers like these…
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