Back in Everclear's hit-making days, Art Alexakis's lyrics focused on parenthood, divorce, moving west to find normality: Unusually adult preoccupations for alt-rock. Now he's 50, with fresh backing musicians recently accumulated, but he still sounds stuck to the analyst's couch, explaining away failure and co-dependency. That's tolerable when songs stay short and fast; more often, meandering melodies make you wish he'd stop whining. 

Listen to 'Invisible Stars': 

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“More Than a Feeling”

Boston mastermind Tom Scholz was as surprised by anyone when he sent his unsolicited demo to record labels and got back a positive response. Scholz said, “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody knew who we were, so I wouldn’t even say we were struggling. It was groveling.” Part of the credit for the interest must go to the anthemic rock number "More Than a Feeling." Inspired by the Left Banke's 1966 hit "Walk Away Renee," Scholz worked on the song for five years in his basement studio before it was released on this album.