In a Different Light

Biding time between full-blown collections of new songs, Everclear released In a Different Light in the fall of 2009. Harking back to the earliest days of rock & roll, when rock & rollers cut new versions of their old hits whenever they signed to a new label, Everclear redo their old tunes for 429 Records, but where Fats Domino and Chuck Berry pretty much stuck to the letter of their original hits, Everclear revamp these tunes, not so much making them into unplugged versions but turning them into something studiously mature, age appropriate for graying alt-rockers. No song here is drastically rearranged; rather, the energy is dialed down and the palette is expanded yet muted, resulting in an album that plays like a faded memory of a greatest-hits album.