Losing A Whole 25 Years: Review of Third Eye Blind (1997)

Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut hit the shelves in 1997, the year where a new wave of alt-rock acts like Deftones, Blink 182, and Sugar Ray began taking over the airwaves. It was the beginning of the return of that feel good, summertime music with songs like “Semi-Charmed Life” filling the heads of many teens around the country. This debut album is an impressive one, not only giving the hit previously mentioned but also having the chart climbing “Jumper” and “How’s It Going to Be”. And these songs aren’t just airheaded pop songs. “Jumper” is a deliciously somber tune about suicide; “How’s It Going to Be” presents a carefully built song about breaking up. But outside of the hits there are more tricks in Third Eye Blind. The album opens with the powerful “Losing a Whole Year”; a song that is super relatable from the shitshow that was 2020. “Narcolepsy” is a moody track that transforms into an explosion from Stephan Jenkins’s powerful vocals. The album goes through highs and lows with angsty tunes like “Graduate” to the solid closer “God of Wine”. This debut album represents the fluctuation from life itself, presenting mountains and valleys of sounds. But the album becomes repetitive. I found myself almost bored during the middle part of the album. I’m not sure if there needs to be trimming but if one or two of the tracks like “The Background” won’t be missed. However, the record is worth the revisit as it captures the anxiety and excitement of a world right before Y2K. 

Rating: 3.7 out of 5