December 30th, 2010 
James Shotwell 
Artist: Hinder
Album: All American Nightmare
Genre: Radio rock
Label: Universal
Inspired, unique and insightful are all descriptive words that would serve perfectly as antonyms for Hinder’s latest album. All American Nightmare is the brand of re-hashed radio ruckus that makes me wonder how many times a band can write the same song and keep getting paid for it. Maybe the guys of Hinder are secret sociological geniuses fixed on making us see what a wreck we’ve let our music industry become by writing throngs of cookie cutter rock songs with cliché subject matter and repeatedly shoving it in our collective faces. More likely, they’ve sold out completely and are shooting for the “don’t know any better” target audience.
The third album by the Oklahoma 5 piece is exactly what we have come to expect from Hinder by now. There IS something to be said for a group that can consistently retain their own sound throughout multiple albums so their fans know what to expect and will enjoy ever endeavor. However, taking this to an extreme where all 3 albums are so close together in sound that they run together and seem formulaically contrived seems to be a step in the wrong direction. The production is… textbook radio rock production. It’s squeaky clean and layered and just like Extreme Behavior. Not saying it’s bad, it’s just the same. The lyrics are Austin Winkler’s usual sex, drugs, blah blah blah. The guitar tones are non-descript. Hey, I enjoy a nice, heavy, distorted guitar as much as the next rock fan but I feel that they’re doing themselves a disservice by having so many tones and effects in one album. Most of the time I hear the instruments, I’m only thinking “Whose guitar/drum/bass does it sound like this time?”
“All American Nightmare” is everything I expect a title track to be. It’s a great representation of the album as a whole. Having said that, I’ve already expressed what I think of the album as a whole, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I find the track a repeat of other hard rock Hinder songs. The riff is catchy, I’ll give it that, but then you realize it’s 3 chords beaten to death and the surprise wears off. Other tracks include the ever enlightening “Hey Ho”, which will be the cleverest wordplay we see on All American Nightmare. The repetitiveness really came to a head on track 5, “The Life”. It is the same song they put out on Extreme Behavior called “Bliss” instrumentally, with a different vocal melody. Even train wrecks have survivors sometimes and the lucky lady to limp away from this one was “What Ya Gonna Do”. It seems to be different in that it’s written from a moment of clarity in an alcoholic’s life and addresses not the usual party scene Winkler growls about, but rather the consequences of such a party hearty lifestyle. It’s an honest look at regrets and hardships, but the lucidity doesn’t stay long and as track 6 begins we wave goodbye to notions of elevated thinking again.
The “All American Dream” is a thing of beauty. It allows us to think that as long as we work hard and live well, we will be able to find happiness for ourselves and be successful. When I think about what the opposite would be, I feel it refers to the phenomenon where people can coast off one good idea and assume little responsibility for innovation in society, yet still reap the benefits of security and stability that other, harder working folks deserve. Given Hinder’s apparent lack of interest in creating anything new but miraculous ability to stay famous, I’d say they’ve become the poster children for an All American Nightmare.
Score: 2/10
Review written by: Eric Dexter
- 2015’s Most Underrated Films - December 29, 2015
- Passing The Torch: The End Of An Era For UTG - December 1, 2015
- UTG PREMIERE: Before The Streetlights – “Private Browser” - November 26, 2015
Posted in 
Tags: 