I’m going to try and get rid of my biasness for this review. If you don’t know, Third Eye Blind are my favorite band and I will love pretty much anything they do, but for now I’ll try and act like I’ve never heard this before. So, now that we have that out of the way, on we go.

Third Eye Blind are foursome from San Francisco. You know that catchy little number that was played out the ass a few years back called ‘Semi Charmed Life?’ The one with the ‘do-do-dos?’ Yeah, that was them. Stephan Jenkins, lead singer and songwriter has a great knack for writing great pop hooks that get stuck in your head all day. ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ is just one example of this. Any one of their numerous Top 40 hits can prove this.

The CD starts off with “Losing A Whole Year,” which immediately shows the awesomeness of Stephan Jenkins’ lyrics. “Rich daddy left you with a parachute/your voice sounds like money and your face is cute/but your daddy left you with no love/you touch everything with a velvet glove.” The verses are almost rapped, rather than sung. It’s an amazing song, and a great way to start off the CD. Next up is “Narcolepsy,” which is just a roller coaster ride. It’s starts off with a slow, relaxing acoustic riff, before kicking into a rocking middle portion, and finally slowing off again. The poetic lyrics are once again prevalent (I read dead Russian authors, volumes at a time/I write everything down except what’s on my mind). It’s just a incredible song.

We’ll skip over the next two, which you’ve no doubt heard (those being ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ and ‘Jumper’). And we come to ‘Graduate,’ a very loud and energetic song that is seemingly putting forth a message, but I don’t want to take the time to think about it right now. Again, we’ll skip over the huge single, ‘How’s It Going To Be’ and go right into one of the CDs best songs, ‘Thanks A Lot.’ This is just a great rock song. GREAT vocals and amazing lyrics. “all hands on deck boys ‘cause this ship was made to sink/your swabber salutes you now/but I know what he’s thinking/I woke you up and I slit the throat of your confidence/and we laughed in the night/and I felt alright.” You know, I think I could write a 5 page essay on the words of Stephan Jenkins, but I won’t for your sake.

Alright, at the risk of this review being too long, I’ll just skip to the last three songs. Track 12, ‘The Background’ is one of the best songs on here, and is definitely my favorite. It is an incredibly emotional ballad, and is just utterly moving. Stephan’s voice is seemingly put under a chorus effect which makes him sound almost underwater and the effect is breathtaking. The song is, at its core, a song about losing someone. “Everything is quiet, since you’re not around/I live in numbness now/In the background.” Oooh, ooh, just ONE MORE LINE, PLEASE: “I do the things we did before/I walk Haight Street to the store/And they say where’s that crazy girl/You don’t get drunk on red wine or fight/No more”. This all builds to the 40 second guitar outro which is so simple and emotional it could easily bring the light hearted to tears. It’s beautiful.

Next up is “Motorcycle Drive-By,” and DEAR GOD this is an amazing song. Stephan put all his emotion and all his guts into this one song and it works out gorgeously. It’s a roller coaster ride of the heart. The lyrics and music go hand in hand. It starts off with him going to see his ex-girlfriend in New York (summer time and the wind is blowing/outside in lower Chelsea, and I don’t know/what I’m doing in this city/the sun is always in my eyes), everything is fine and slow, the music accentuating that. And as his emotions are rising and he figures out that he will never have this girl back (you’re so serene/careening through the universe/your axis on a tilt/guiltless and free/I hope you take a piece of me with you/and there’s this burning/like there’s always been/I’ve never been so alone/and I’ve, I’ve never been so alive) and the music rises, gets a little louder and more aggressive. As he becomes more scared, scared of being alone, he tells her off (and this is the last time/we’ll be friends again/I’ll get over you/you’ll wonder who I am). All this comes to a crashing halt as he comes home and crashes on the beach and let’s his emotions cool (I go home to the coast/it starts to rain, I paddle out on the water… alone/taste the salt and taste the pain/I’m not thinking of you again/summer dies and swells rise/the sun goes down in my eyes/see this rolling wave/darkly coming, to take me… home/and I’ve never been so alone/and I’ve, I’ve never been so alive). And with that the song ends. Words cannot express how amazing this song is. Even writing this review has upped my respect for it. Download this song, buy the CD, whatever you need to do to hear this. Amazing.

Well, all good things must end, but not many end on such a high note. ‘God Of Wine’ has been described by the band as their good luck song, and their drinking song. It’s Stephan’s favorite song on their record, and it’s a very quiet, and relaxing song. In my opinion, the song is about getting wasted with someone you love. Or something. “she takes a drink and then she waits/the alcohol it permeates/and soon the cells give way/and cancels out the day/I can’t keep it all together, I know…/I can’t keep it all together/and the siren’s song that is your madness/holds a truth I can’t erase/all alone on your face.” See what I mean? I’ll just leave it open to interpretation.