Here's the part about Nickelback that doesn't get discussed enough: they're absolutely hilarious. Get Rollin', the band's 10th album, is basically standup comedy that transcends parody by being so utterly silly that it's almost charming.
Butt-rocking opener "San Quintin" grafts a children's melody onto heavy metal chug-a-lug, with Chad Kroeger howling about prison before doing an intensely technical shred solo. Already, I feel the corners of my mouth twitching, a chuckle bubbling up at the sheer over-the-top ridiculousness of it all. Next up is "Skinny Little Missy," a nu metal banger full of wah-wah twiddling in which Kroeger warns the listener not to steal his friend-with-benefits, and he does another shred solo, I guess to prove that he's good with his fingers? Disgusting.
The standup routine really hits its stride after that, as the aforementioned nu metal sex jam leads into saccharine country ballad "Those Days" — such a jarring transition that it's as if someone edited a scene from The Notebook into Dumb and Dumber. The song is a weepy scrapbook of childhood memories — a shameless knockoff of the far superior "Photograph," although it's not bad. And just as you're getting into the nostalgic vibe, the next song is "High Time," a slapstick country-funk hoedown about smoking weed with lines like "couldn't see the forest for the trees."
It's absurd, comical, hilarious stuff that makes good on Kroeger's claim that he's ready for the band to be hated again. So it's almost disappointing when, after the boneheaded party anthem "Vegas Bomb," Get Rollin' downshifts into a surprisingly tasteful run of mid-tempo ballads. "Tidal Wave" has sweetly jangling arpeggios and a spacious wash of reverb, while the "Hero"-esque power ballad "Steel Still Rusts" is an empathetic story about army enlistee that's potentially a bit pro-war but touchingly shines a light on how veterans tend to be forgotten by society.
Compared with the gimmick-rock of the album's first half, this low-key second side doesn't leave much of an impression, but it offers a compelling counterpoint to all those "Nickelback sucks" cold takes.
Butt-rocking opener "San Quintin" grafts a children's melody onto heavy metal chug-a-lug, with Chad Kroeger howling about prison before doing an intensely technical shred solo. Already, I feel the corners of my mouth twitching, a chuckle bubbling up at the sheer over-the-top ridiculousness of it all. Next up is "Skinny Little Missy," a nu metal banger full of wah-wah twiddling in which Kroeger warns the listener not to steal his friend-with-benefits, and he does another shred solo, I guess to prove that he's good with his fingers? Disgusting.
The standup routine really hits its stride after that, as the aforementioned nu metal sex jam leads into saccharine country ballad "Those Days" — such a jarring transition that it's as if someone edited a scene from The Notebook into Dumb and Dumber. The song is a weepy scrapbook of childhood memories — a shameless knockoff of the far superior "Photograph," although it's not bad. And just as you're getting into the nostalgic vibe, the next song is "High Time," a slapstick country-funk hoedown about smoking weed with lines like "couldn't see the forest for the trees."
It's absurd, comical, hilarious stuff that makes good on Kroeger's claim that he's ready for the band to be hated again. So it's almost disappointing when, after the boneheaded party anthem "Vegas Bomb," Get Rollin' downshifts into a surprisingly tasteful run of mid-tempo ballads. "Tidal Wave" has sweetly jangling arpeggios and a spacious wash of reverb, while the "Hero"-esque power ballad "Steel Still Rusts" is an empathetic story about army enlistee that's potentially a bit pro-war but touchingly shines a light on how veterans tend to be forgotten by society.
Compared with the gimmick-rock of the album's first half, this low-key second side doesn't leave much of an impression, but it offers a compelling counterpoint to all those "Nickelback sucks" cold takes.