Artist bio

Nebraska-bred, L.A.-transplanted funk/rock/pop combo 311 burst on the scene in 1993 with the genre-bending album Music, and has continued to ply its trade through hard-hitting live shows and word-of-mouth popularity growth in the ensuing decade.

The group formed on a basically unique hybrid of rock guitars, reggae and funk rhythms, rapped lyrics and soaring vocal harmonies. Through Music and ganja-clouded followup Grassroots, the quintet perfected the sound, scoring minor underground hits with "Do You Right" and "Homebrew" but generally building a fanbase through relentless touring.

The big breakthrough came with a self-titled third album in 1995, as a slicker production courtesy of Ron Saint Germain smoothed out their sound ("All Mixed Up") but still allowed it to rock with precision ("Down"). The five musicians had also grown and become more musically proficient, leading to a branching out on 1997's Transistor, which found them running through genre experiments with less of an ear toward blending than in the past. The album failed to meet critical and commercial expectations, though the group's fanbase stayed strong, and eventually 311 would return to a refined version of its original sound for Soundsystem and From Chaos.

Though the conventional wisdom is that Faith No More, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rage Against The Machine were the true progenitors of the rap-rock hybrid sound that exploded in the late '90s with hundreds of platinum-selling faceless bands, 311's take on a similar hybrid was unique, and the group's early body of work will always have its place in rock's pantheon, having helped bring the '90s some of its own dialects to speak within the larger language of rock music.

Albums by this artist

From Chaos (2001)

Soundsystem (1999)

Transistor (1997)

Grassroots (Recommended) (1996)

Concerts

October 27, 1999
The Metro, Chicago

311

Transistor

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

311 Transistor Capricorn, 1997 RiYL: Rage Against The Machine, Sublime, Showermast, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Nebraska funk-pop outfit 311's members felt that the sound on their third record so exemplified what they were trying to do that they named the record after the band. 311 subsequently became the band's most successful release, spending a considerable amount of time in Billboard's top 20.

So how does a band follow up its magnum opus?

With the mixed bag that is Transistor, 311's fourth album for Capricorn -- a confused mesh of musical styles that has high points, but at times falls flat on its face.

With 21 songs in all, Transistor has a lot of room for experimentation. In the past, 311 would try to blend styles such as reggae, rap and metal to create a solid hybrid sound. The new album tries to vary styles from song to song, giving listeners a musical buffet to snack on one piece at a time.

The too-familiar choppy power chords of guitarist Tim Mahoney still form the basis of songs such as "Tune In'' and the title track. Other familiar elements of the band's repertoire remain, but stranger arrangements dot the track listing. "Light Years'' has an almost Chemical Brothers-meet-Rockwell music bed and "Use Of Time'' starts out with an up-tempo acoustic guitar strum and ends with one of Mahoney's best-ever electric solos. "Rub A Dub" is genuine island music and the band's most rootsy attempt at reggae yet.

Transistor is certainly less accessible overall than the previous albums, and vocalist Nick Hexum concedes this in "Jupiter": "One thing I've got to say before sales dive / stay positive and love your life." But it seems the band still has some soul searching to do and doesn't plan to roll around in the radio-friendly format it reached in parts of 311.

So pick up Transistor with an open mind and you will likely find gems among its 21 tracks. But don't go in looking for a five-star, cohesive masterpiece. In that area, 311 still has a ways to go.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.