Shudder To Think: 50,000 B.C.

Shudder To Think has made a career out of baffling listeners. Now the band baffles its fans by executing what can only be dubbed calculated restraint. On 50,000 B.C., STT chucks the surprises of earlier albums in favor of soul—albeit white-boy alterna-soul. Vocalist Craig Wedren allows himself more expression with his multi-octave voice, as he ceases the abrupt shifts which marked his earlier performances. Here, he dips and weaves smoothly, multi-tracking his own voice for an entire emotive choir. Likewise, the music has foregone the spikes which set it apart in the first place in favor of a more soothing pop sound. The cynic would cry sell-out, but none of the intelligence and musical complexity has been lost. If not for the fact that 50,000 B.C. comes out at roughly the same time as the new U2 album, Shudder To Think would gain a lot of new fans. Sadly, it will no doubt be buried under the weight of the evil Irish leviathan.