hallucinations review #9

USHER MELLOWS WAY OUT

Author: Darryl Sterdan
Source: Calgary Sun (url)
Date: September 19, 2003

HALLUCINATIONS - David Usher

Moist singer David Usher continues his quest to outrun his post-grunge past with his third solo album.

Which is just fine and dandy by us - there are few things less enjoyable than watching a middle-aged rocker who doesn't know when to stop screaming.

Thing is, we don't know why Usher has to swing the pendulum so far in the opposite direction. The self-indulgent Hallucinations is as ethereal, insubstantial and delusional as its title suggest.

Musically, these pretentious post-grad pop-rockers tend to be pointlessly overblown, loaded down with strummy guitars and lush orchestrations and jazzy licks and swooping synths and scritchy electronic textures and knob-twiddling production flourishes - all of which fail to mask the lack of hooks or choruses strong enough to stick in your memory.

Top it all off with Usher's ponderously serious lyrics ("And tell me, do you feel like dying?") and eye-rolling vocal delivery - especially his unfortunate swoops into falsettoland - and you have to wonder if this guy is for real.

Track Listing:

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