Never Enough

Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder can't take all the credit for the alternative rock explosion of the early '90s -- everyone from U2 and R.E.M. to Ministry, Jane's Addiction, and Nine Inch Nails also did their part to make alterna-rock a commercial success -- but their angry, angst-ridden introspection certainly spoke to a generation that, in the words of Bill Clinton, felt their pain. Cobain and Vedder brought anxiety rock into vogue, and when the late 2000s arrived, there were still countless alterna-rock bands that lived and breathed angst -- which is exactly what Southern California's Never Enough do on this self-titled debut album. This 2007 release is not grunge or post-grunge, but Never Enough -- whose members include Keith Barney (guitarist for Eighteen Visions and an ex-member of the metalcore combo Throwdown) and Norman Matthew of the band Lylah -- thrive on dark, troubled introspection in a way that is very typical of post-'80s rock. Musically, Never Enough get a lot of inspiration from Stabbing Westward and Nine Inch Nails; their alternative pop/rock is very industrialized, and the track "On Sunday" employs soundbites in a manner that was quite common among industrial rockers in the late '80s and '90s. It is important to stress, however, that for all its industrialization, this 41-minute disc is really about the songs, the lyrics, the melodies, and the vocals more than the beats or the production. Songcraft is vital to Never Enough, and that ability to combine industrialized production with honest to God songcraft is something they have in common with Nine Inch Nails (whose musicality was acknowledged in a big way when country legend Johnny Cash covered "Hurt"). This CD, which is dominated by original material but contains a noteworthy remake of Tears for Fears' "Shout," is hardly groundbreaking by 2007 standards. But that doesn't erase the fact that Never Enough have made an enjoyable, if derivative, contribution to anxiety rock. ~ Alex Henderson