311's 'Uplifter'

Shelling in the summertime doesn't guarantee that flawless find, but that's usually not why you're even looking. You just hope the tide returns a few gems while you're around.

Rap-rock-reggae rabble-rousers 311 seem to embrace the value of time. In the Twitter age two years passes like two minutes, and the boys of Omaha get that. Never before have they let four years go by before going forward, and maybe that's what holds them back.

For Uplifter, the band's ninth album in 16 years, 311 took their time and took on producer Bob Rock, whose résumé will forever outshine that of his peers; he produced Metallica's 1991 self-titled masterpiece, an album that coincidentally shares a song title with 311's last radio hit. Their current single ("Hey You") sounds disappointingly crafted for the masses, and should have been passed up for another rocker. Incidentally, Rock may want to leave Uplifter off his next job application.

It's not to say his latest effort, which hits stores Tuesday, has suffered; the band sounds more focused and genuine at points, especially on songs like "Too Much Too Fast" - easily the album's standout - which oddly recalls melodies from Paul McCartney's Wings catalogue. Tim Mahoney's tropical guitar strings echo and soar over P-Nut's (subtle) bass pulse and drummer Chad Sexton's (modest) staccato thunder.

A lot of Uplifter's lyrics, however, rapidly leave listeners wondering why they had to wait so long for so little ("You take a little bit of me and a whole lot of you/Add it up together and here's whatcha gonna do.") Here's what you ought to do: Skip directly to track four ("Golden Sunlight"), the tune Rock should have showcased as the album's opening cut. It's the most mature 311 song since Transistor's layered "Stealing Happy Hours" from 1997.

Nick Hexum's vocals sound sporadically timid through much of Uplifter, while fellow singer S.A. Martinez outdoes himself with slicing harmonies. He's rapping less and singing more for a change, and it suits him. But the music heavily overshadows the album's lyrics. Uplifter could have easily been an instrumental record. Bob Rock's studio influence becomes evident about halfway through; he's allowing 311 to explore a bit beyond their formula of yore. If not for performances like the lovely "Two Drops In The Ocean" and the spacey-yet-spunky "India Ink", Rock's guidance would have sunk his first project with the band.

311 are clearly at their best when they aren't overthinking their comfort zone of chorus, verse, chorus, rap bridge, chorus. These guys were fusing hip-hop with aggressive riffs and backbeats before Fred Durst ever did it for the nookie. And they no longer have to prove their talent or their longevity. The band members are flirting with age 40 now; that, it's been said, is when life truly begins.

While it's not without its flaws, Uplifter indeed sounds like a summertime album: A dazed cloud sporting steel-toed boots. 311's only enemy is a safe, more-of-the-same album; they came dangerously close to engaging that demon. But taking their time has proven 311 have more gems in store for a band now pushing two decades together.

-P.F.