Invisible Stars was the comeback, the record where
Everclear returned to action, but its 2015 sequel,
Black Is the New Black, is where
Art Alexakis' reconstituted band settles into a new groove. As the dad joke of the title suggests, the new groove is an old groove, a revival of the gnarliest, toughest parts of the group's '90s heyday, and that doesn't just apply to the sound, either.
Alexakis litters
Black Is the New Black with allusions to monsters, abuse, broken dreams, and other assorted nastiness. It's enough ugliness to sometimes seem like shtick, but
Alexakis dodges this pitfall by getting heavier and tighter, sharpening the songs and generally relying on craft over energy. It's a gambit that works: it's defiantly old-fashioned without being stodgy, probably because the tunes click and there's muscle behind the riffs, giving
Black Is the New Black both a foundation and a kick. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine