Invisible Stars was the comeback, the record where Everclear returned to action, but its 2015 sequel, Black Is the New Black, is where Art Alexakis' reconstituted band settles into a new groove.
As the dad joke of the title suggests, the new groove is an old groove, a revival of the gnarliest, toughest parts of the group's '90s heyday, and that doesn't just apply to the sound, either.
Alexakis litters Black Is the New Black with allusions to monsters, abuse, broken dreams, and other assorted nastiness.
It's enough ugliness to sometimes seem like shtick, but Alexakis dodges this pitfall by getting heavier and tighter, sharpening the songs and generally relying on craft over energy.
It's a gambit that works: it's defiantly old-fashioned without being stodgy, probably because the tunes click and there's muscle behind the riffs, giving Black Is the New Black both a foundation and a kick.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sugar NoiseArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | The Man Who Broke His Own HeartArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | American MonsterArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 03:15 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | ComplacentArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 03:29 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | YouArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | This Is Your Death SongArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 02:25 | 5 MB | 17 MB |
| 7 | Simple and PlainArt Alexakis, Chris Taylor Brown | Everclear | Play | 03:25 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | Anything Is Better Than ThisArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 03:09 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Van Gogh SunArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 10 | Pretty BombArt Alexakis, Chris Taylor Brown | Everclear | Play | 03:03 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 11 | SafeArt Alexakis | Everclear | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 39 mins | 91 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 278 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Art Alexakis | Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Producer, Vocals |
| 2 | Brad Blackwood | Mastering |
| 3 | Chris Taylor Brown | Composer |
| 4 | Paul Brown | Photography |
| 5 | Josh Crawley | Group Member, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 6 | Everclear | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Davey French | Group Member, Guitar, Vocals |
| 8 | Freddy Herrera | Bass, Group Member, Vocals |
| 9 | Bec Hollcraft | Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Hundred Handed | Vocals (Background) |
| 11 | Bill Hynes | Executive Producer |
| 12 | Grant McFarland | Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 13 | Daniel Rheaume | Stage Manager |
| 14 | Jon Seibels | Engineer |
| 15 | Sam Shepard | Art Direction, Design |
| 16 | Carson Slovak | Engineer, Mixing, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Stars in Stereo | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Derek Steinman | Production Coordination, Production Manager |
| 19 | Chad Taylor | Executive Producer |
| 20 | Sean Winchester | Drums, Group Member, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |