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Everclear
Welcome to the Drama Club (Eleven Seven Music / 10th Street Entertainment)
By: Scott D. Lewis
 The first time I thought Art Alexakis was ridiculous was when he kept going on about how as a teen, he tried to kill himself by jumping off the Santa Monica pier. I have spent a fair amount of time on that pier. It?s not a very tall structure and the only harm you might face from jumping off it would be touching the polluted ocean water below. The second time was when I heard him sing the lyrics "I will buy you a new car / Perfect shiny and new." That?s just stupid and repetitive, banal and redundant and stupid. I?ve thought of Alexakis as a fool other times (like when he was very public about his political work yet [allegedly] failed to vote [according to the Willamette Week], taking a child-bride, declaring bankruptcy while covering his residential realities, when he tried to impress that hot stripper "Pisces" at Club 205, etc., etc.), but this album is the final straw.
And calling this an Everclear album is just a joke considering Alexakis is the only member of the band that hasn?t quit in frustration over his anger issues and choking control. So he went and bought up some new boys and seems intent on following Pete Townshend?s self-mocking "I write the same old song with a few new lines." Except no one is cheering. In fact, Alexakis is literally begging people, via MySpace, to buy the album and attend Everclear shows, stating, "?if this tour doesnt (sic) do well and "glorious" (sic) doesnt (sic) do what we want it to do,...people will start giving up on the record?". Too late, pal.
The record? Heard an Everclear song? Fine, then you?ve heard this album already. Alexakis is less an artist than he is a product and a pusher, and he?s just peddling his same old shit. This is just tiring and boring ? just more choppy pop-rock with Alexakis trying to sound like the cool and sensitive everyman ? and haven?t we all had more than our fill of his annoying barrage of "oh"s, "ah"s and "yeah"s in place of meaningful lyrics? What?s funny is that this time, more than ever, he?s pointing blame-filled fingers and lashing out at those who have "wronged" him (such as on the album?s failed single, "Hater"). Trust me buddy, you?ve brought it all upon yourself and your karmic shitstorm is FAR from over. In Music We Trust often likes to finish off reviews with a grade, but here?s a less subjective, more telling measure: Average sold price on eBay: $4.00.
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