Nickelback State

Nickelback are still figuring out who they are on their sophomore album, The State. Initially self-released, the record was eventually widely distributed when the band signed to a major, and it even spawned the charting single "Leader of Men." But the sound here is an inchoate version of the polished rock of "How You Remind Me," released two years later. The opener, "Breathe," sounds like Nickelback's erstwhile contemporaries Bush, and "One Last Rush" boasts the speedy pulse of Foo Fighters. Tracks like "Worthy to Say" and the stomping "Diggin' This" point the way forward, to the time when Nickleback would have their own lane and own the active rock genre.