Hinder’s Take It to the Limit will please fans and annoy detractors in equal measure. Those who liked Hinder’s debut record, 2005’s Extreme Behavior, will find more simplistic head-bangers chock full of scream-along choruses and juiced guitar riffs. But if you objected to Extreme Behavior’s moronic attitude toward women and lowest-common-denominator lyrics, Take It to the Limit shows no major growth in either of those areas. Disinterested in subtlety and only rarely able to connect with an original hook, the rather tepid Take It to the Limit has little of the adventure or danger suggested by its title.
What Happened to the Fun?
To be fair, there’s no point in being snobby about Hinder’s approach. Led by frontman Austin Winkler, Hinder aren’t a band for deep thinkers. They deliver loud hard rock that worships babes and live-fast-die-young hedonism – when they’re not writing syrupy love ballads, of course. When it’s done well, this sort of mucho-macho style can be exhilarating, but as they demonstrate on Take It to the Limit, Hinder just aren’t that inspired, offering boring rehashes of standard girls-gone-wild scenarios. If you buy a Hinder album, you want some risqué fun, but the boys don’t seem to have their heart in it.Several Bad-Girl Songs That Are Just Bad
A great example of Take It to the Limit’s dull songcraft is “Up All Night,” where Winkler meets a “perfect 10” waitress and then has a crazy one-night stand with her. In theory, this should be an ideal setup for boisterous strip-club riffs and leering come-ons. But “Up All Night” encapsulates all that’s wrong with Hinder. First, Winkler doesn’t project much charisma as a frontman – there’s no hint of sex appeal in the way he belts his lyrics. Additionally, the guitars mistake furious busyness for actual propulsion, failing to turn a gaggle of chords into a compelling hook. And, finally, the potentially lascivious situation Winkler lays out contains zero surprises or titillation, prompting one to wonder if the song is completely fictional and, if so, why no one bothered to at least try to give it some interesting details. “Up All Night” is not the only bad-girl track on Take It to the Limit, but its considerable weaknesses highlight all of the album’s limitations.A Few Strong Melodies
Of course, dumb lyrics can always be redeemed by a strong melody, which “Use Me,” the first single, ably demonstrates. Though yet another example of Winkler indulging in his “chicks: can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em” lyrical trope, “Use Me” benefits from an undeniable chorus that recalls the dopey delights of ‘80s hair-metal bands like Poison or Ratt. Likewise, “Lost in the Sun” overcomes generic subject matter – Winkler fondly remembering a summer fling – by focusing on mid-tempo guitars and pleasing whoah ooah ooah ooah backup vocals. But more often than not, like on the drearily “rocking” “Heaven Sent,” Winkler’s strained voice paired with sluggish guitars results in clichéd commercial music without a whiff of inventiveness.Hinder Throw a Dull Party
As on Extreme Behavior, Take It to the Limit occasionally dabbles in sad-eyed ballads. “Without You” is at least tuneful, but the album-closer, “Far From Home,” finds Winkler apologizing to his girl for his bad habits. “You’re better off without me,” he screams, and it’s hard to disagree with his assessment. Hinder want to make good-time party music, but Winkler isn’t much of a host. Like the woman he addresses in “Far From Home,” you may want to distance yourself from him as soon as possible.Best 'Take It to the Limit' Tracks:
“Use Me” (Purchase/Download)“Lost in the Sun” (Purchase/Download)
“Without You” (Purchase/Download)
Release date – November 4, 2008
Universal Republic Records
