MUSICINPLETHORA

INSTITUTE

Distort yourself

Institute is fronted by grunge rocker, Gavin Rosedale.  The former Bush front man formed this band in 04’ after taking a break from the success of “Golden state” (BUSH).  Distort yourself was released in 05’ and the album did moderately well, but failed to gain enough attention for Rosedale to continue with this band.  This album sounds like an extension of Bush.  The entire album was heavy enough to stand on its own as a rock album and catchy and poppy enough to sing to. “bullet proof skin” was the debut track and it definitely set the ambiance and pace for the rest of the album.  The heavy guitar is prominent on almost all tracks. Tracks like “boombox,” “save the robots,” and “ambulances” are a bit mellower but still stands strong with Rosedale’s vocals.  Tracks like “when animals attack” “information age” and “seventh wave” are heavy set, and are head banging and loud tracks, which are awesome.  This album is  great for any grunge lover, however, for kids who were absent or unaware of the grunge era, it may be a bit dated.  The heavy set of grunge is prominent, but in 05,’ bands were more successful if they sounded like nickelback and the new age of punk/rock/pop like fall out boy, simple plan etc...  Rosedale’s tracks did not evolve to become more poppy.  Post grunge was still rock; however, it did not last long before hip/hop rap and dance music garnered popularity and left the post grunge bands behind.  For a grunge lover like myself it was great to hear new material from old grunge bands, but in order for them to garner a wider range of listeners and sucess it was necessary to change up their style.  Longevity was merely impossible to keep if these grunge bands did not change up their style to accomodate the "now"..  Rosedale as a solo act made the change and grew into a chiller type of genre and did ok, but not great. 

Although, it is not likely that Institute will reunite (on account of Rosedale’s solo career) this is still one of my favourite albums.  The thing about Gavin Rosedale’s music is that the music still has grunge roots regardless of the time its in because of his vocals.  Rosedale’s solo work lost quite a bit of edge, but most of his songs are still heavy even if the sound is lighten by the tempos.  Ultimately, this album is a spin off of Bush, and it sounds heavy as hell, which will always be great.

Track Listings