Breach

On the surface, there's not much different between this album and its predecessor, but the songs are stronger, sharper, and the performances are lean, muscular, and immediate.

The slow stuff might be a bit ponderous, but the first six or seven songs manage a rare trick: They're incandescent enough to jump out at you on the radio, yet are steeped in a type of introspective inquiry that was once integral to rock & roll, and has nearly vanished.

Jakob Dylan and his team have fashioned an album that's longer on big guitars, crunchy grooves and cool changes than overt confessionals. All told, Breach is a subtle, seamless effort with nary a lull or misstep -- in contrast to its multiplatinum predecessor, the second half of which suffered from a series of pedestrian songs.

There's one big knock to be made against ''Breach'': It lacks the spark of the new, the original. Both lyrically and musically, Dylan works within traditional forms rather than pushing at boundaries... Dylan is more craftsman than innovator (in this way he resembles John Mellencamp), and some listeners will be put off by the feeling they've heard it all before.

Though he comes up with strong melodies, he's hardly a match for Ben Folds or Elliott Smith, both of whom frame their catchy stuff more idiosyncratically and neither of whom is terribly interesting even so.

In a sea of trend-conscious releases, "Breach" will wash over the senses like a cool, refreshing breeze. Although it's a completely contemporary and competitive entry into today's market, you won't find even the tiniest musical element that will render this set irrelevant or outdated in 10 years.

Jakob Dylan and his team have fashioned an album that's longer on big guitars, crunchy grooves and cool changes than overt confessionals. All told, Breach is a subtle, seamless effort with nary a lull or misstep -- in contrast to its multiplatinum predecessor, the second half of which suffered from a series of pedestrian songs.

A strong, solidly melodic rock album, gorgeously written, tastefully arranged, and impeccably played.

Breach is equal parts likeable, lyrical jamming, and inflated mediocrity. The Wallflowers achieve their most noteworthy moments in their uptempo, instrumentally thick songs, such as the first track, "Letters from the Wasteland," and "Sleepwalker." When the band leans hard on lyrics as the primary stability of a song, the album falters a bit ("Witness," for example, is slow and tedious).

Breach is a dull affair of humdrum tunes, mundane performance, and lyrics which lose themselves in vague imagery as if Dylan were actually evading the chance to express himself.

In terms of its sound, it is far less exuberant than 'Bringing Down the Horse,' far more stripped-down and varied in its arrangements.

Fans will be happy to find Jakob more upfront, and keyboardist Rami Jaffe utilized, but differently than past straightforward organ parts.

Generic, maybe, but very nicely done. [Nov. 2000, p.117]

Nowhere on Breach are the Wallflowers offensively bad like Matchbox 20, but the songs would be better described as lullabies than rockers.... It's pleasant stuff to keep in the background, but for all that pleasantness nothing stands out as especially beautiful or even memorable.