Candlebox

Ten years after Candlebox slipped quietly into that good night after the release of Happy Pills, the grunge group returned in 2008 with Into the Sun. Not much had changed with the group in the meantime -- the most notable switch being the replacement of bassist Bardi Martin by Adam Kury, but that changed the sound nary a whit, as Candlebox still cranked out grunge with more in common with AOR than Sub Pop. On Into the Sun they even still show a partiality to the loping, echoey minor-key riffs that turned "Far Behind" into a hit, although they often hammer out downstroked riffs pushed a little bit too cleanly through digital processors. They're better off when they go for the ballads -- and better the plain-spoken, unapologetic AAA power ballad "Surrendering," which is surprisingly unselfconscious, than "Far Behind" variations like "A Kiss Before." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide