By: A. Estes

The disbanding of Stone Temple Pilots in 2003 was so quiet and uneventful that you could have easily missed it had you not been paying attention. So, it should come as no surprise that they have slipped under the radar with their reunion, delivering an album that easily could have served as the immediate follow-up to 2001′s Shangri-La Dee Da and sounding like they had never parted ways in the first place. In the time since the break-up, singer Scott Weiland collaborated with a few ex-Guns N’ Roses members in Velvet Revolver and the DeLeo brothers joined forces with Richard Patrick of Filter in the short-lived Army of Anyone, yet neither project seem to have had an effect on what was brought to the table on the band’s self-titled return to the game.

Truth be told, this is about as pure as any comeback album could be. Scott Weiland — despite his seemingly ongoing addiction problems — still sounds phenomenal and still knows how to bring a dynamic performance to the table, while the song-writing team of the DeLeos, who have always been the unsung heroes of the band, put all of their effort into crafting a solid set of songs that could each find a home on the radio while holding up alongside that classics of the band’s 1990′s career. When the band isn’t playing to their strengths on songs like “Take a Load Off” and the first single, “Between the Lines,” it injects a bit of pop sensibility into the flavorful “Cinnamon,” while tipping their hat to the classic rock status they seem bound and determined to earn on the likes of “Huckleberry Crumble” and “Hazy Daze.” Likewise, “First Kiss on Mars” and the closing number, “Maver,” are closer in line with Weiland’s solo work and have a slight whiff of The Beatles. While the days of writing simple grunge tunes appear to be behind them, the set here is so impressive that it doesn’t really matter.

Put simply, there isn’t really a bad song on hand here. The band’s penchant for experimentation is still intact, yet they still know how to pump out the kind of classic hooky rock tunes that made them so popular back in the day. From front to back, Stone Temple Pilots’ self-titled effort is packed with top-notch song-writing, solid musicianship and just plain good music. Fans of the Core era of the band may be taken back a bit by the direction they’ve taken, but anyone who paid attention to the latter part of their career and noticed how spacey they got will not only find the album to be a moderate return to Earth, but also a fitting follow-up that was perhaps long overdue but certainly worth the wait. Those seeking just a plain old good rock n’ roll record need look no further.

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