SPOILER ALERT: No Fixed Address by Nickelback is awful. For all of the die-hard Nickelback fans out there, this new album is comprised of 11 songs that sound identical. This album sinks so low that it features an equally irrelevant artist, Flo Rida, for one song “Got Me Runnin’ Round.” Nickelback’s feeble attempt to remain relevant, hilarious as it may be, comes at the price of selling out for the pop movement. Voice inflection is generally lost on Nickelback, but the beauty of it is that their music makes for fantastic background music. The downside, of course, is that you are still listening to Nickelback. Nonetheless, this album was released on the 17th of November by their new label Republic Records.
Best Song: “What Are You Waiting For?”
Although I could easily argue that the silence in between the songs is the greatest part of the album, of the 11 songs this takes the cake quite easily. Nickelback’s emotional vulnerability really shows as lead crooner Chad Kroeger repeats the name of the title 30 times. The repetitiveness is reminiscent of “That Thing You Do” by the Oneders, but it makes for a listenable song. The sound is clean, obviously some very detailed editing was put into this particular track. The words, “what are you waiting for” seem to just roll off the tongue of Kroeger and eventually begin to roll off your own. This melodic, toe-tapping tune will get you off your feet and make you dance like the awkward middle-aged person everyone has inside of them. Compared to most sound this song is sub-par yet when juxtaposed with another Nickelback song, it seems harmonious and beautiful.
Worst Song: “Got Me Runnin Round” feat. Flo Rida
Back in the day, when MTV was still around and your mind was still blown that Flo Rida’s name really just spelled Florida, this song might have topped the charts. The mixture of Emo and Pop is refreshing yet repulsive. The petulant noise that emits from my headphones when this “song” comes on makes the sound of nails on a chalkboard sound like an orchestral symphony. The background music sounds like it came from a coerced New Orleans street band that usually makes good music but was edited by Nickelback. Flo Rida begins rapping about McDonalds, which really isn’t relevant to anything but nonetheless it fills the space of the confusing background sound. Flo Rida’s rapping sounds like the Tonehangers from “Pitch Perfect,” but in a way that is so unfunny that you are left with nothing but a massive cringe. This is what will be played when the aliens arrive and we want them gone.
Overall this album is one to remember, and Nickelback has become relevant again in the way everyone but the band itself expected. Nickelback is the butt of every joke, yet at the end of the day they still get royalties on the frankly terrible songs they produce.
Out of 10 I give this album a -537.
