Third Eye Blind
From page 75 of Classic Rock Magazine October 2003
‘Out Of The Vein’ (Elektra) Another of middle America’s faceless, eternally troubled enormodome fillers, Third Eye Blind have taken three years to follow-up their last album, ‘Blue’.
Given that the San Francisco post- grunge quartet sold six million copies of their self-titled debut, they must have shared Elektra’s dismay that ‘Blue’ produced just one hit, thus piling on the pressure for ‘Out Of The Vein’.
They’ve certainly made a listenable enough third album. Thankfully nowhere near as wearisome as labelmates Staind, they nevertheless share the latter’s need to share their personal pain, loneliness and general unhappiness. Blue-collar, self-help vignettes like ‘My Hit And Run’ (‘Sex and death/Heartbreak and strife/They give no warning’) and ‘Blinded’ (‘I can’t promise I will mend or bend/When you believe that we are fixed now from our birth’) are earnest, heartfelt and impeccably performed, if lacking in excitement.
Third Eye Blind are at their best attempting to rock out, as proved by ‘Faster’, ‘Crystal Baller’ and ‘Forget Myself’, but this album simply has too many plodding fillers.
★★★ ★★
Dave Ling


