Album Review: Nirvana - Bleach (1989)

I never had a tremendous affection for the grunge era of the nineties.  Grunge to me, was dull and depressing, a stark contrast to the music of the 1980s, which was often upbeat, futuristic, and fun.  And in light of these, I could even find myself forgiving its occasional cheesier moments.  Nevermind by Nirvana, however, changed my perspective on grunge drastically, with ace songs such as "Come As You Are", "Lithium" and my favorite, "In Bloom."  It was a groundbreaking album, and I could easily see why.  Right now, however, I'm listening to, and reviewing, of course, their debut album, Bleach.  Bar two songs - "Floyd the Barber" and "About A Girl" - there is nothing remarkable that this album actually offers.  It's rather bland, to be honest. Short bouncing grooves reminiscent of Metallica's St. Anger (which killed it for me) are everywhere and overstay their welcome after the first few songs.  OK, I can see a modicum of potential in songs like "School" and "Love Buzz", but no more. In my opinion, it's worth checking out this album once, or maybe twice.  But this certainly won't get much attention from me on a regular basis.  I think I'll stick to Nevermind, which is by far their magnum opus, and for good reason.  B-