Bleached – Don't You Think You've Had Enough?
As they embrace sobriety on their third record, the scatty nature of Bleached's first two records has sadly been replaced by a dull glossy pop-rock sound
The issue of drinking and drug-taking, especially in the music industry, is an ever-present one. Far too often, musicians have battled addiction to cope with their demanding lifestyle and in too many cases have lost their lives as a result of this struggle. So kudos to LA-based sister-act rock duo Jessica and Jennifer Calvin for embracing a newfound sobriety and openly writing about their experiences of drink and drug addiction on their latest record, the aptly titled Don't You Think You've Had Enough?
What a shame, then, that the resulting album sounds as dull as people often fear sobriety to be. While this is obviously a misguided point of view, Bleached's third album manages to successfully tackle some big and heavy topics through a massively generic and outdated 80s power-pop lens that offers very little to the imagination. While there's an irony to an 80s-influenced record proclaiming the dangers of drug abuse, the potential for metaphor ends there at surface level.
Admittedly, some of the blame should lay at the feet of producer Shane Stoneback (Vampire Weekend, Sleigh Bells) who is known for his overly compressed production. However, the charm of Bleached's earlier, scattier records (Ride Your Heart, Welcome to the Worms) are nowhere to be seen, replaced by a glossy pop-rock sound that would have been fashionable a few years ago, but has surely passed its prime.
Listen to: Hard to Kill, Rebound City, Shitty Ballet