Everclear debuted with Sparkle and Fade in 1995. When it came out there was more talk about Art being a recovering heroin addict than talk about the band's music. his has always bothered me. I find it parasitic that something like heroin, that destroys a person's life, is the same thing that a record company uses to market a musician to stardom. What they're saying is, "this guy was an idiot with a toxic substance for years...you should by his album".

The happy little ditty, "Santa Monica", powered Sparkle and Fade to platinum numbers. Art and his rhythm section basically took punk and made it sound good. Sorry, add that to the Nirvana comparisons. On this latest release, so much for the afterglow, they use the same ingredients. Good ears in the studio, catchy punk power pop, and Art's twisted little tales about his road to recovery, which according to a recent interview he's still traveling. If Sparkle and Fade is continuing to log time in your disc-changer so much for the afterglow would be an excellent replacement.