Universal Pulse

Twenty years of 311

The rock band 311 started to entertain connoisseurs of original music in late eighties of the twentieth century. The musicians presented an interesting sound and combined various genres (often the ones that are quite distant from each other) in their songs. Thereby the quintet managed to cope with funk, reggae, rock and rap in an easy and neat manner. On 311’s albums these styles sound harmonically, and that kind of combination of what, at first view, cannot be combined, became the band’s signature feature. Everyone expects only the high quality works from 311, as soon as the rockers established a reputation of the real professionals. Hits on every album also became a sort of a good tradition. Well, the long play Universal Pulse that was released in 2011 will hardly turn out to be an exception to the rules.

Eight fundamentals of Universal Pulse

Probably the first thing that will be noticed by 311’s faithful fans is not a big number of songs on the rockers’ new studio attempt. The musicians presented only eight tracks and that means that Universal Pulse proved to be their shortest long play to the moment. However it was produced by Bob Rock and that fact is not less interesting, of course. Bob Rock is an incredibly famous and influential person in the world of music, and especially in the world of rock music. It is possible to make sure that collaboration of Rock and 311 was successful (just like in the previous album Uplifter (2009)) from the very first notes of Time Bomb. The quintet’s easy recognizable style is presented in a full rich volume indeed: massive guitar sound, interesting rhythmic patterns and unfailing melodiousness. Wild Nights also sounds energetic, while Sunset In July will be enjoyed by lovers of signature leisured bridges of 311. In general Universal Pulse creates an optimistic mood. Well, can it be some other way actually? It can be stated that minor notes are not from 311’s new creation for sure. Just check the incredibly inspiring and bright track Weightless!

A guide to styles

311 are well-known for their manner of playing that absorbed a great number of various musical directions. Do you like heavy guitar riffs and hip-hop recitatives? Do you enjoy accents on down beats and real rock solos? Well, 311 got it all. The quintet made a mix of these ingredients a long time ago, and it seems that such a cocktail is still fascinating for both the musicians and their fans. Universal Pulse goes amazingly smoothly, and the number of songs is well compensated by the quality. The rockers chose these very songs and they had some strong reasons to do that. All compositions of Universal Pulse complete each other perfectly, from energetic Time Bomb to thoughtful And A Ways To Go. Fans of 311 will be pleased by the new work of their favorite band, while all those who did not have an opportunity to get acquainted with the alternative group from Omaha yet, can easily take Universal Pulse as a nice guide to 311’s creativity.