RGG April 2015 - p.12
Fight or Flight, the new album from Hoobastank, marks the beginning of what
promises to be a vital new chapter in the nearly two-decade run of the versatile
L.A. band. This musically and emotionally intense work is Hoobastank’s initial
release on their own Open E Entertainment label following a productive decade
on Island Records during which they ruled the modern rock charts, crossed over
big-time with the iconic smash “The Reason” and sold 10 million albums.
MAY
08
“The time had come to end the relationship
with Island ” says lead singer Doug Robb “and
that has led to a new mindset for us We’re
older and wiser we have families now we’ve
experienced the ups and downs that come with
the territory for any successful band and we
couldn’t ask for anything better than where we
are now with new management and our
quote/unquote ‘indie’ situation We’re in a spot
where it feels like we’ve got nothing to lose and
everything to gain and that’s exciting ”
The band’s muscular and sensitive modes are
both very much in evidence throughout Fight
or Flight’s dozen tracks but here for the first
time they’ve managed to seamlessly and
dramatically fuse these seemingly antithetical
impulses on powerful yet heartfelt songs like
“You Before Me ” “Magnolia ” “Incomplete” and
“No Destination (Fight or Flight) ” Other songs
eloquently and unflinchingly document the
struggle for self awareness; these include such
cathartic cuts as “Slow Down ” “The Fallen” and
“This Is Gonna Hurt ” the first single The
expressiveness of the material is masterfully put
across by the band—rounded out by bass player
Jesse Charland and drummer Chris Hesse—and
captured with breathtaking immediacy by
producer Gavin Brown (Metric Billy Talent)
The lyrics—primarily written by Robb in
response to musical ideas dreamed up and laid
down by Estrin and Charland in their respective
home studios—tend to function on more than
one level Consider “This Is Gonna Hurt ” which
erupts like a napalm attack and bears a nakedly
aggressive message that begins “I’ve been
living far too long/with the feeling something’s
wrong ” on the way to what comes off like a
brutal blow off note
