Nickelback - Get Rollin'

It has been five years without new material, but with shows in places that, in 27 years of band, had not yet been visited. After a forced pause due to the pandemic, Nickelback has resumed studio activities and completed its 10th studio album. Entitled Get Rollin', the material is the successor to Feed The Machine.

A siren sounds like a warning. After repeating itself for a few times, it is roughly silenced by a low, brutal, distorted, and cavalier punch. Protagonized by the precision and power of Daniel Adair's double bass drums, this introductory power slips into a catchy, but still serious phrase, whose full-bodied bass from Mike Kroeger gives the necessary consistency to the rhythmic base that builds. With the right to a distorted guitar that, dominated by Ryan Peake, dirties any trace of pop that may exist in the melody, San Quentin shows a Chad Kroeger with a sharp, raspy and fit vocal, even though he is close to 50 years old. With his characteristic timbre, the singer invites the listener to give vent to the energy, the excitement. It is an ode to rock n' roll and works as Nickelback's autobiographical narrative about his return to the road. The verse "out of San Quentin" may symbolize the end of the quarantine, the isolation, and the massive concern over Covid-19. Powerful, San Quentin is a song that takes up the metallic folk sound consolidated on the Dark Horse album.

Maintaining the power of the dirty and bass guitar distortion, the metallic folk follows equalized and in the same metric of songs coming from the Silver Side Up album. With great competence in acquiring contagion from the melodic union between drums and guitar, the song has a provocative and dangerous swing that is marked mainly by C. Kroeger's raspy vocals. It is true that the bass has, here, an important role in building the pressure that shapes the scope of Skinny Little Missy, a song that features a skinny girl as the protagonist. And in this storyline, Nickelback surprises by offering a narrative that highlights the female empowerment, the independence and the stature a woman can have. Reversing the game, in Skinny Little Missy it is the woman who causes frenzy in men and who snubs them. Above all, the song is evidence of female self-esteem and self-confidence.

Right from the start, the lyrical interpretation based on her clean voice and soft tone already carries a nostalgic connotation. The entrance of the soft and equally soft guitar only helps to amplify this nostalgic energy that exudes from the melody. Harmonic in its rhythmic minimalism, the introduction is embedded, even, in melancholic touches that help to move the listener. With the sonar of the drums audible in order to build a sense of distance, Those Days explodes into a chorus of intense harmony and soaked in a bubblegum melody that captivates the viewer with its plot that harks back to the days of youth. The first day that started a long-lasting romance, the time of disengagement, and the attitudes and things that marked the essence of each individual in times gone by. Those Days is simply a demonstration of the relationship with time and the gratitude for all that has been experienced. It is with this song, a product that recreates the intense energy of Photograph, that Nickelback reaffirms their undeniable ability to build catchy ballads, but whose melodic-harmonic content justifies any kind of emotional memory recorded through each instrumental sonar. 

Noise of keys rattling. Coughing. A dirty, acoustic 4x4 beat already begins to draw the rhythmic compass. When distorted guitar riffs are heard, the spectator already has a notion of what to expect from the new set. Surprising expectations, what Nickelback offers in High Time is a funky melody in the style of Aerosmith's singles Rock This Way and Sweet Emotion. Managing to make the spectator feel the freshness of the sea and the breeze swaying the hair in the waltz of the wind coming through the open car window, High Time is an ode to freedom and independence. The improvisation, the unforeseen, the uncertain, the surprise, and the nonchalance go hand in hand amidst a summer sunset that stimulates, embraces, and causes a certain frenzy to obtain the same emotions felt by the melody in real life as well. High Time has conquered, with little, its goal of contagion and popular appeal.

Dirty, fast, but with a light swing that suggests a fusion with hard rock, Nickelback keeps the mastery of building metallic materials, but without losing the pop base and without being appealing. It is curious to note that, in the process, drums and guitars have an unbreakable synchrony that, besides promoting a fresh sound, it is also full of pressure. And so Vegas Bomb offers a sister plot to Guns and Roses' single Nightrain. After all, just as the latter was an ode to the eighties drinking Los Angeles, so is the former, but in relation to Las Vegas. The song is nothing less than the perfect description of the liberating effect such a drink has on its drinkers. Still, it is a striking title for its largely infectious melody.

An intimate and introspective melody is formed as the sound of the crashing waves comes to life. It's interesting to note that, in this spectrum, the sonority ends up taking on softened similarities with that of Radiohead's single Creep. Growing in a polite way, the track even manages to flirt in a simple way with the melody of Tomorrow, song by Stone Temple Pilots. It is with this mixture of indie rock and alternative rock that Tidal Wave is the narrative of a sick, inconstant love, capable of generating doubts about self-esteem and self-love. It is a song that talks about the intensity and the need for self-protection, a behavior that holds all the feelings that, without being extravasated, consume the interior and end up affecting not only the routine, but all those around. Tidal Wave is a relationship that works like life: full of ups and downs.

The level of introspection is amplified. A reflective-emotional-nostalgic notion comfortably embraces the listener while the guitar forms a soft waltz that creates a melody similar to that of What You're Waiting For, another important ballad in Nickelback's repertoire, as well as flirts with the structure of Jason Mraz's 93 Million Miles single. The song is mournful and weepy, Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing? draws attention by building a catchy, sentimental chorus from a minimalist instrumental that manages to be generously dramatic. This is how the song shows the listener a romantic plot that sounds like a beautiful and touching declaration of love. Sensitive and delicate, Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing? is simply a thank you for the fact that life has gifted the character with another person capable of fostering the deepest, purest passion. Like Those Days, Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing? certainly enters the Get Rollin' ballad team.

Like Coldplay's single Paradise, this track brings a re-energizing landscape that, composed of a melodious and infectious sound that is almost like a Nickelback trademark, makes the listener walk through an inspiring minimalist terrain. Acoustic for the most part, Steel Still Rusts is a description of a soldier's routine, but also serves as a perfect allusion to self-confidence, stubbornness, and focus. Bluntly discussing the United States' lack of recognition for the military service performed by many of its inhabitants, Steel Still Rusts is also nostalgia for an ordinary, simple life never achieved.

Melodic, colorful, soft, rejuvenating, inspiring, and romantic. Like a perfect teen movie soundtrack, Horizon, with its mellow melody and crystalline pop base, without the usual dirtiness of Nickelback's sound, gets the listener intoxicated in this romantic plot. However, there are no flowers, garlands, or perfumes here. What Horizon is about is the description of two people who love each other, but refuse to give voice to this mutual feeling. Two people who prefer to let fate be lonely in its mission to build an opportunity for them to cross paths. Yet Horizon in a way joins Tidal Wave and Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing? for the simple fact that it deals with love. However, it is here that the melody is at its sweetest, which creates an interesting counterpoint between sound and lyricism.

Continuing with the romantic mood, the new dawn even flirts with the sound of Mars Hotel, single by The Mayfield Four. Bringing a soft and contagious pop rock that even flirts with the clothes of Friday I'm In Love, single by The Cure, Standing In The Dark is the song that unquestionably meets the popular and radio appeal of Get Rollin'. Clearly constructed under a structure designed for audience participation in live performances, Standing In The Dark is the perfect definition of how a single should be: catchy and catchy, but without losing the essence of the authors, regardless of the genre they represent. And in the case of Nickelback, even more timidly, rock is present in this one, which is, like Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing?.

A different guise than usual. A dramatic folk pulled by the digital sounds of the violin spoken by Chris "Hollywood" Holmes give an impact that manages to mix melancholy and drama in very balanced measures. When C. Kroeger enters the scene, the song takes on even more visceral levels with his suffering lyrical interpretation, which even gives way to an intense instrumental in its minimalist structure. Not surprisingly, What Just One More offers the listener is the relationship with grief, overcoming it, and even dealing with memories. A largely sentimental pop capable of making the listener feel the same pains as the one pronouncing each word.

Fresh, catchy, popular, radio-friendly. Get Rollin' is an album that proves, once again, that Nickelback is a true hit maker. Full of great tracks, catering to both the Canadian group's loyal audience and radio consumers, the album manages to be mainstream without being catchy.

You could say that, in a way, it disappoints by not meeting the expectations of being 'the most metal album' of the group, as Mike Kroeger has suggested in previous interviews. True, titles such as San Quentin, Skinny Little Missy and Vegas Bomb fit such a statement, but the remaining eight tracks do not.

What Get Rollin' in fact is, is a record of hits. Almost like 'the best of', the album surprises by bringing only catchy and largely radio-friendly material. With Standing In The Dark as the most commercial track, the album is filled with sensitive, emotional ballads such as Those Days, Tidal Wave, Does Heaven Even Know You're Missing?. 

Even so, the group does not stray from its essence and offers the public its typical metallic folk. More than that, Nickelback, just as Nirvana did with the help of mixing engineer Andy Wallace on Nevermind, manages to blend the pop base that fills their songs. 

It is true that pop is evident in all of the group's tracks, but in Get Rollin', it shares space with indie rock, alternative rock, post-grunge, and even funk. All with the help of Chris Baseford and Chris Lord-Alge's mixing. Both professionals helped Nickelback to keep their sound faithful, mature and balanced thanks also to the synchronicity of Jeff Johnson in the production, a function he also shared with Basefor.

Released on 11/18/2022 via BMG, Get Rollin' is a fresh, catchy, and strongly radio-friendly record. It is a hit record made by a hit maker. More than any other work, Nickelback has succeeded with Get Rollin' in releasing material made up 'only' of great, memorable tracks. With it, the group will certainly have numerous 'new classics'.