Greyest of Blue Skies

With their second release on Wind-Up Records, Finger Eleven attempts to establish itself as legitimate rock stars in an already saturated market. Like fellow Canadians Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven relied on a lone single from its debut album to hit it big with alternative radio outlets and springboard its career. And like Our Lady Peace's "Starseed," "Quicksand" did just that, bringing the band's name into households throughout North America. In fact, comparisons between the two Ontario-based bands go beyond simply location and career path. Their musical styles are also remarkably similar, built upon simple electric guitar work and their lead singers' extremely flexible voices. The Greyest of Blue Skies marks a bit of an evolution from the sound established on Finger Eleven's first album, Tip. The Greyest of Blue Skies is quite pensive and features more prominent guitars than its predecessor, but it is also pleasantly harmonic at times. The songs have a polished feel to them, regularly breaking into catchy, but far from cheesy, refrains that will have all but the most stoic listeners singing along. The band is able to pull off fast and heavy pieces like "Suffocate" (first released on the Scream 3 soundtrack) as well as deeper, more ponderous songs such as "Sick of It All" without appearing hypocritical in the slightest. In the end, the album is an enjoyable listen that stays away from the fluff and filler that often plague alternative rock bands. For fans of Canadian rock, Finger Eleven is the next logical step from "that other band."