Nickelback’s “Everything Under the Sun,” the Canadian rockers ’ 11th studio album, dishes out exactly what the all-encompassing title suggests — within their familiar formula.
Current Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 lends a blistering solo to the high-energy track that moves a mile a minute. Hard-rockin’ arena anthems, radio-ready singles and bighearted ballads are present alongside star cameos and a few surprises. Here, frontman Chad Kroeger , guitarist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger and drummer Daniel Adair take some chances and miss a few but are mostly in standard form on their latest album out Friday. Their recipe — glossy hooks, post-grunge rock riffs and gravelly vocals — has been criticized by some for being too predictable and repetitive. It has also been successful across their three-decade career, producing many chart toppers in the ‘00s. They’re not interested in stopping now. Talk of a golden ticket and papier-mâché mountains follows over a hypnotic synthesizer and gentle drums. Love it? Not quite, but it’s certainly different. Kroeger croons about a chance meeting — maybe destiny? — as a foot-tapping drum beat steers the instantly catchy “I Already Know.
And at 12 tracks, Nickelback’s follow-up to 2022’s “Get Rollin’” is their lengthiest album since their 12-song debut, “Curb,” in 1996. “Rattle The Cage” leads off as a loud love letter to concert-going fans, a reminder that Nickelback can rip through a rock song. The folksy, acoustic-heavy “Technicolor Steamboat” is the biggest eyebrow raiser. The power ballad “Make Me Love You” and mid-tempo “Leave Me Behind,” with its layered harmonies and tone-setting slide guitar, would fit on any Nickelback album. “Simple Song,” backed by the soaring UK Rock Choir, urges world harmony because, as the lyrics state, “right now we’re some kind of broken.”
Actor Ryan Reynolds , who has collaborated previously with Nickelback, channels Gene Wilder’s classic Willy Wonka character in the intro, declaring: “You’re going to love this.
