P.O.D.

Testify (Atlantic)

P.O.D. have stuck around longer than many of their erstwhile rap-rock bros by actively embracing the properties of radio pop: They've never shied from soaring choruses, nor have they kept their music free of the shiny production values that keep them from sounding too out of place next to Mariah Carey and the All-American Rejects on TRL. To make Testify, the San Diego-based quartet hired Glen Ballard, the platinum-plated producer with records by Alanis Morissette and Wilson Phillips on his résumé. Wise move: Now that the adolescent rage that fueled rap-rock's ascent among white suburban teens has transformed into the acquisitive zeal that motors high-bling cocaine rap, somebody has to provide relatively well-balanced teenagers with pre-game pump-up music. (How good at rage has P.O.D. ever been, anyway? It's worth noting that the band's biggest hit, "Youth of the Nation," detailed a Columbine-style massacre from the perspective of a victim, not a perpetrator.) To that end, Testify offers a bounty of glossy, hip-hop-inflected alt-rock--muscular stuff studded with jewels of melody that would've earned them sneers in the Decade of Durst. The best cut is "On the Grind," where the tough-talking verses are propped up by a cream-cheese chorus about the siren song of the streets.

 
My Voice Nation Help
0 comments
Sort: Newest | Oldest
 

Concert Calendar

  • May
  • Thu
    23
  • Fri
    24
  • Sat
    25
  • Sun
    26
  • Mon
    27
  • Tue
    28
  • Wed
    29
Dallas Event Tickets
©2013 Dallas Observer, LP, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places Dallas / Fort Worth

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city