Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces

Seether's lead singer/songwriter, Shaun Morgan, is an unabashed, unapologetic worshiper of Kurt Cobain, using Nirvana's sound as a template for Seether and, more importantly, interpreting Kurt's teenage angst as something entirely un-ironic and confessional. This is a pretty skewed reading of Nirvana but not an uncommon one, and there have been scores of bands that have devoted their careers to ironing out every quirk in Cobain's legacy, with Seether being one of the more prominent of this legion in the new millennium. In Morgan's interpretation of Nirvana, music is just a vehicle for emotional catharsis and boy did he ever have a lot to get off his chest in 2007, as in the previous year he lost a guitarist; was subjected to the humiliation of his ex, Amy Lee, pretty much writing an entire album about him on Evanescence's The Open Door (including the withering hit single "Call Me When You're Sober"); and did a stint in rehab. All this turmoil is evident on their third proper album, Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces, a title that hints at Morgan's propensity for purple prose (but not his predilection for profanity; the F-word powers more than a few choruses here). Those tortured and tormented words are at the center of Finding Beauty as Morgan pours out his soul, pairing naked emotional bloodlettings with jacked-up and overly polished active rock. He doesn't really put a unique spin on his angst, although "Rise Above This," a midtempo tune with an identifiable melodic hook, stands out. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine