The Beat Surrender

Institute are fronted by Gavin Rossdale of ‘Bush’ fame – the “Brit rockers� who have had several hits you may have heard. None spring to my mind at the moment, but what would I know about “Brit rock� music?

The introduction to this album is reminiscent of the Mission: Impossible theme tune. I’m not sure if this was such a good idea for an introductory song as it does sound a lot like Limp Bizbikt’s effort for the second M:I movie.

Once it’s warmed up, and for a pleasant change, this album is not comprised of your standard chord work; there are some complex melodies and some lovely bass riffs in there.

Unfortunately, I feel the album is let down a little by the lyrics which are a bit awkward sounding. This seems to be as a result of Institute’s efforts to incorporate a lot of unnecessary imagery in the lyrics. There’s obviously a brain behind their song writing, I think they should try and loosen up a bit and the songs might flow a bit more effectively.

What are these songs about, anyway? I’m a bit suspicious; it seems to me that some lyrics have been included because they rhyme, rather than because they make any sense. Maybe it’s just me, but as a result I found the meaning of the songs a little slippery. For example: “There’s been delays/Murders of emotions/Distractions in waves/Stunted elevationsâ€? Well, that’s great, but what the hell’s it suppose to mean? I think I may be more inspired to try work out what they were on about if the music was less power based; if it was hippy strum-strum music, it might make more sense to me – if you see what I mean.

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