Coda.fm

Away From The Sun [Limited Edition w/ Bonus DVD]

by 3 Doors Down

• Buy it at Amazon.com

Mississippi's 3 Doors Down will forever be known as the "Kryptonite" band--a reference to the runaway hit from their debut disc, The Better Life--but not for a lack of trying on their part. Away from the Sun is pretty much everything one could want from a contemporary American rock record--terrifically catchy melodies, soaring choruses, meaty playing, and lyrics that reach for meaning. In other words, a disc crafted with radio in mind. The title track and album opener "When I'm Gone" are grand, wide-screen suites with big guitar and even bigger themes, while "Here Without You" is a fat, earnest weeper Bono would envy. In fact, there's nary a clunker in the bunch, although a certain sameness pervades the band's writing, a point exacerbated by vocalist Brad Arnold's everyman contralto. Still, 3 Doors Down juggle the hard/soft dynamic deftly, alternately recalling Stone Temple Pilots, Creed, Train, and their ilk. --Kim Hughes