Hinder Just Juiced Up Enough To Be Memorable

I suppose you've heard the saying that good things come in small packages. Such feelings could apply to Oklahoma City hard rock band Hinder's new single "Remember Me". It clocks in at a tidy 3 minutes, 19 seconds, doesn't lay the guitar playing on too thick, and says what's been said in the rock world before, namely the by now cliched sentiment, "Will you remember me when I'm gone?" On the whole Hinder maximizes the effectiveness of the whole less is more attitude. Don't misunderstand me. Joe "Blower" Garvey does an impressive job with his guitar but you aren't getting the full massive range of his talents until we hit the bridge, no mean feat given how short the song is. Not much time to show off but Mr. Garvey makes it work for him. Lead vocalist Marshall Dutton glosses over his torment in the simplest way possible. Any song that draws reference to a siren in the first line can't be leading to anything particularly promising from a wordsmith's perspective. At the very least he claims the siren sound makes him feel alive. Having been in more than one ambulance in recent years I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wasn't exactly oozing invincibility. Undiluted fear maybe but not world-beater. Mike Rodden does a fine job on bass. He's the propulsion system behind "Remember Me". Drummer Cody Hansen applies his finely honed skills to this project. No wild drum solo a la Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" but that wasn't necessary for this song anyway. Cody Hansen picks his spots and rolls with this dark night of the soul flow. Metaphorically Marshall's caught out in the rain, life preserver non existent. He'd like for his girlfriend to remember him. Who among us doesn't? Note to Marshall...Hinting that your sweetie's doomed to hate the ghost you've become isn't a exactly a useful prelude to a hot and heavy sexual encounter. Methinks Marshall's too wrapped up in the undertow to even care. That said, such campfire horror in no way detracts from listeners realizing what a jolting piece of effective drama "Remember Me" turns out to be. Not much heavy lifting needed to enjoy this song. Simply crank the knob to ten and cruise your bad self down Congress Avenue, convertible top down. "Remember Me" certainly deserves to be remembered.