Five years after the release of their excellent 2019 album
Voyager
,
311
returned from the longest gap in their discography with another strong set,
Full Bloom
. Their 14th overall LP, it was produced by
Colin Brittain
(the new
Linkin Park
drummer) and
Scotch Ralston
, who finesse the core
sound, as heard on tracks like the crunching, riff-packed "You're Gonna Get It" and the radio-friendly earworm "Need Somebody." The feelgood title track rides an island vibe that transports listeners to a better place, cut through with
's trademark buzzy guitars, while "Mountain Top" takes that hypnotic jam energy and sets it loose on an elastic bass burst. Even when the drums crash harder and the riffs get chunkier, like on "Persimmon" and "Braver,"
is good vibes only, an uplifting, life-affirming burst of positive energy that adds yet another boost to their late-era winning run. ~ Neil Z. Yeung