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One of the hardest things for a band to deal with are the expectations that arise out of having a single achieve major success. Rightly or wrongly, Semisonic are best known for their smash single, "Closing Time." As such, they are not an unknown quantity now and have to deal with more pressure to follow up that success. In All About Chemistry, Semisonic show that they are solid musicians and not just a catchy one hit wonder.
In 1993, the little known group Trip Shakespeare called it quits and out of the ashes of this group, arose Semisonic. They released their debut album, Great Divide in 1996. Rolling Stone magazine called this release, "Simple and sparkling with luminous guitars and vocals." 1998 saw the release of Feeling Strangely Fine which was produced by Rick Launay of Midnight Oil fame. One of the first singles off this was the tremendously popular hit song, "Closing Time" that propelled the album to platinum level in the United States. "Closing Time" has now achieved the level of pop culture status due to it being played just about anywhere where an end is at hand. Everyone has had a "Closing Time" at one point in their life and thus the reason for the tune's popularity. One may wonder how a band can follow up success of this magnitude. Ironically enough, by not trying to take themselves too seriously, Semisonic and their latest, All About Chemistry shows that they are a music force that has not let success go to their head.
Semisonic raises the theme of love as chemical reactions with the opening single, "Chemistry." It is a rather interesting concept conceived by Dan Wilson, the main songwriter for the group.
The lyrics tell of past relationships in terms of chemistry and chemical reactions.
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Sex as reactions to stimuli is a recurring topic throughout the album. "Get a Grip" is a funny, yet poignant story of having to resort to masturbation due to not picking up at a party. One can just wonder what the story behind the creation of this song was.
The theme of sex continues with "One True Love" which essentially is about being at a party, not enjoying being there and wanting to leave with that special someone. This song has the distinction of being co-written, and co-sung by Carole King. Her vocal addition adds that special something to the song, elevating it from the level of just being a tune about a lonely, horny guy at a party. "I Wish" is a very well constructed rock ballad with an extended jam at the end of it. For those of you that wish to dance a long rock ballad with your significant other of the moment, this is the tune for you.
All About Chemistry shows the continued growth of Semisonic as musicians. The combination of their instrumental ability with the lyrical excellence of Dan Wilson lead to the formula of success in this case. All About Chemistry is an excellent follow-up to their prior albums and solidly proves that they are a band here to stay. In this case, all of the elements make pure gold, proving that they do know their chemistry.
By Daniel Sanford, CanEHdian.com 2001
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