Third Eye Blind- Ursa Major

Apparently Third Eye Blind are a phenomenon. Hipsters hate them, college kids go crazy about them, and the world sits torn between writing the band off as a throwback or something much deeper and awe inspiring.

I think it's important to reveal to you that both schools of thought are wrong.

Third Eye Blind's latest album "Ursa Major", the outfits first in six years and fourth overall, isn't changing the world, it isn't going to ruin it either. It is, however, an incredibly satisfying listen that definitely tops my list of albums this year.

"Ursa Major" is a largely different beast than most of the band's catalog up until this point. It's very relaxed in comparison to their previous releases. It has it's share of "Semi-Charmed Life"-esque numbers, but ultimately falls short of being a throwback to previous sounds. It's not an adventurous album that is striking out into new territory, it's not rewriting how America and the world are thinking about pop music, and it is not the word of God or the Devil to the people.

That being said, it seems almost comical how much I enjoy it. The high energy songs are fist pumpers, the softer ones made me say "hey, these guys are pretty fun," and I do suspect that the lyrics of "Summertown" will probably make just as much sense during my mid-life crisis as they do now that I'm about to be an adult for real.

Wait, how can he like Animal Collective, Bowie, and all those other "important" bands and acts and still love this album? Well, it's because I realized that Third Eye Blind are just good, old-fashioned (not in a throw back sort of way)fun. If you like fun, throw them a couple bucks. You'll laugh at it (seriously, how can you not laugh at middle aged white rapping?), you'll think some things are incredible (Monotov's private Opera is a wonderful ditty), but ultimately sometimes you need to just relax and enjoy something for what it is and not try to turn it into something else.

Rating: 4 out of 5