Alien Ant Farm Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Alien Ant Farm may have appeared on the national scene in 2001 in association with the nu metal crowd, but five years later and four albums in, the band is sporting this tag as loosely as ever. So while the aggro-crunching guitars are still mostly on hand, the full-on brash attack usually connected to the scene has largely been replaced on Up in the Attic with added melodic instincts and random components like horn sections, keyboards, strings -- hell, the liner notes even credit use of a mandolin and theremin. Now before you panic, it's not quite the divergent sonic party that a list of this nature suggests. "Bad Morning" and the bitter "Forgive & Forget" forcefully open the album with brazen guitars and bashing rhythms, so really, Alien Ant Farm still sound like themselves. But as they've always been a bit quirkier and melodically inclined than the Limp Bizkits of the world, the further listeners go into the album, songs become a bit more pop-oriented and less hard-hitting in nature. This isn't really a bad thing, though; most work out fine (like the standout, representative hybrid of "Around the Block"), making Up in the Attic great for a leisurely afternoon of cruising around the neighborhood. "Crickets" rolls lazily along, largely propelled by calm guitars and piano, while the acoustic-based "Supreme Lifestyle" brims with warm, robust vocal harmonies over light percussion and strings. But lead singer Dryden Mitchell doesn't use these early-evening moments as reason to restrain his singing, since his voice remains strong and gripping throughout. Taken at the song level, Alien Ant Farm continue to stretch the boundaries of their vaguely alt-metal repertoire and, aside from various moments of filler, the band does it with apparent ease. At the album level, though, there's something that makes Up in the Attic seem a bit hodgepodge and lopsided, instead of cohesive. But hey, play it on shuffle mode, skip past the occasional song, and all should be OK. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After Alien Ant Farm's deadly bus crash in 2001 in Europe, it was difficult to tell if the band would record again. Lead singer Dryden Mitchell broke his neck, a notoriously difficult injury from which to recover. But the California-based Alien Ant Farm teamed up with producers Robert and Dean DeLeo of the Stone Temple Pilots for truANT, an album that grabs listeners by the collar with "1,000 Days" and doesn't let go until the closing track, "Hope." The first single, "These Days," is so relentlessly addictive and hopelessly upbeat ("These days are great/There's work to do/Would you like to work with me?/I'd love to work you") that anyone who hears it will give in to its soaring vocals and staccato guitars. "Sarah Wynn" is an incredibly honest, touching plea for a girl to stop using drugs ("What the hell were you thinking of?/I can't help you now, Sarah/Why the hell were you shooting up?/Now you're coming down, Sarah"). The song is almost painful to listen to. "Tia Lupe" doesn't fit in with the anthemic rock that fills truANT, but it is nonetheless a snappy, Latin-inspired love song. These days music fans will be hard-pressed to find an album so satisfying. ~ Christina Fuoco, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Discovering new limits to the nu metal scene by approaching mainstream measures and using avowed pop rhythms, Alien Ant Farm go beyond the widespread rampaging guitar strain. The band's kinship with Papa Roach proved to be crucial, for it was through Roach's logo New Noize that the LA quartet managed to deliver their disc on the Dreamworks label. Anthology surfaced as the band's first full-length on a major label with the production credits of Jay Baumgardner, who previously worked with groups such as Orgy and Coal Chamber. The album showcases the band's alternate dexterity, not only due to frontman Dryden Mitchell's revealing vocals, but also by virtue of their deliverance of full-blooded melodies. If "Courage," the album's opening track, provides a hint of their crossbreed intentions, "Movies" confirms Alien's unusual dispositions, surfacing as original discharges of alternative pop/rock. Anthology emphasizes the Californians intrepid enthusiasm, even including a version of a Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal," once more disclosing the team's hybrid intents. ~ Mario Mesquita Borges, All Music Guide
