Brighten is the third solo album from Alice in Chains co-founder Jerry Cantrell and the first since Degradation Trip in 2002. In terms of composition and tone, Brighten marks the biggest departure from Cantrell’s signature sound, taking his music in a new direction that has few similarities to his other work.
The album was recorded over a year with the help of session musicians ranging from bassist Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) to vocalist Greg Puciato (Dillinger Escape Plan). The most obvious stylistic departure is the lack of Cantrell’s recognizable sludgy guitar tone. Even the album’s heavier moments don’t have that sinister, droning sound. Other Cantrell staples, such as odd time signatures, palm muting, and wah pedal, are used sparingly or not at all.
But Cantrell has always varied his styles, incorporating elements of metal, funk, blues, and folk into Alice in Chains’ sound and experimenting with psychedelia and country in his solo work. Brighten is aptly named, though, because the biggest departure for Cantrell is trading his usual gloom, depression, and cynicism for a more positive, even uplifting tone.
“Push back on the darkness in which you damn well like to play,” Cantrell sings in the title track, offering a mission statement for the album. The song is uptempo rock and roll every bit as bright as the title indicates with the exception of the low, sinister riff of the bridge.
That sense of optimism permeates the sonic palette, from the folksy power ballad “Prism of Doubt” to the mid-tempo casual rock of “Nobody Breaks You.” In the country ballad “Black Hearts and Evil Done,” Cantrell sings of living an empty life, but that bleakness is met with a desire to change. “I want to feel something, something alive,” he sings while softly strumming a down-tuned acoustic guitar backed by twangy pedal steel.
But it is still a Jerry Cantrell album, so darkness and musical tension find their way through cracks in the pleasant facade. “Atone” is a dark, brooding western. Cantrell’s vocals are haunting as they mesh with a dusty open-tuned acoustic lick built around twangy string bends. The propulsive stomp leads to an increasingly dark chorus overpowered by menacing distorted guitar. “I want to believe I’ll never drown, can ascend,” Cantrell sings. But unlike most of the album, that sentiment is met with cynicism. “No release or reprieve to be found.”
The swampy “Siren Song” is one of Brighten’s best tracks, melding clean arpeggiated acoustic guitar with a filthy Delta blues lead lick, all driven by a dirty McKagan bass groove. “And when the day is done, think on the things I’ve done, holding a piece you left inside,” Cantrell sings. Though the song uses imagery of being lost, adrift, and indecisive, it’s done to show the anchoring stability love can provide. “In my dark you are my light; carry you with me in my soul,” he sings.
“Had To Know” is the closest Bright comes to his old style, Cantrell’s crunching guitar charging the heavy rocker. It’s also the most musically complex, shifting between fast power chord riffs and slow, distorted arpeggios.
Though Cantrell’s raspy voice lacks range, it conveys pain and anger well and works well in harmonies. Throughout his career, Cantrell has been a master of utilizing vocal harmonies for different effects. Whether with himself or with Puciato, the vocal harmonies are at times beautiful (“Black Hearts and Evil Done”), at others sorrowful (‘Goodbye”), and occasionally frightening (“Atone”).
After eight original songs, the album ends with a cover of Elton John’s “Goodbye.” Jerry Cantrell covering Elton John may have once seemed preposterous, but it fits with the tone of Brighten. The song shows Cantrell’s voice at its most emotional, vulnerable, and technically proficient. He croons over a gently strummed acoustic, swelling string section, and sparse distorted guitar that ads extra tension while repeating the refrain, “I’ll waste away.”
Cantrell steps out of his comfort zone with Brighten. While it mostly works, leading to a solid album that expands the artist’s repertoire, Brighten never quite reaches the greatness of Boggy Depot, Degradation Trip, or the early Alice in Chains albums. Brighten is full of good songs, but has few moments of greatness. At his best, Cantrell creates some of the nastiest riffs and catchiest rock songs in the genre. His more aggressive and bleak style simply fits his talents better. But even without reaching that high bar, Brighten is a quality solo effort worth adding to the discography.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Weiner
