Alien Ant Farm may have appeared on the national scene in 2001 in association with the nu metal crowd, but five years later and four albums in, the band is sporting this tag as loosely as ever. So while the aggro-crunching guitars are still mostly on hand, the full-on brash attack usually connected to the scene has largely been replaced on Up in the Attic with added melodic instincts and random components like horn sections, keyboards, strings -- hell, the liner notes even credit use of a mandolin and theremin. Now before you panic, it's not quite the divergent sonic party that a list of this nature suggests. "Bad Morning" and the bitter "Forgive & Forget" forcefully open the album with brazen guitars and bashing rhythms, so really, Alien Ant Farm still sound like themselves. But as they've always been a bit quirkier and melodically inclined than the Limp Bizkits of the world, the further listeners go into the album, songs become a bit more pop-oriented and less hard-hitting in nature. This isn't really a bad thing, though; most work out fine (like the standout, representative hybrid of "Around the Block"), making Up in the Attic great for a leisurely afternoon of cruising around the neighborhood. "Crickets" rolls lazily along, largely propelled by calm guitars and piano, while the acoustic-based "Supreme Lifestyle" brims with warm, robust vocal harmonies over light percussion and strings. But lead singer Dryden Mitchell doesn't use these early-evening moments as reason to restrain his singing, since his voice remains strong and gripping throughout. Taken at the song level, Alien Ant Farm continue to stretch the boundaries of their vaguely alt-metal repertoire and, aside from various moments of filler, the band does it with apparent ease. At the album level, though, there's something that makes Up in the Attic seem a bit hodgepodge and lopsided, instead of cohesive. But hey, play it on shuffle mode, skip past the occasional song, and all should be OK. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide
Up in the Attic is Alien Ant Farm's third album. The album is identical to 3rd Draft with the addition of one new track, and radio promo, "Forgive and Forget". It's considered a commercial flop in the U.S. because of little support for the album, no officially released single ("Forgive and Forget" was only released as a promo to radio and received little airplay), and no tour. The album debuted at number 114 on the Billboard 200, dropped to number 198 in its next week, and fell off completely in its third week.
The song "Around the Block" had a music video recently released, and is available on iTunes.
The album cover features references to songs of past albums: Smooth Criminal, Movies, S.S. Recognize, et al.
There are two hidden tracks appended to the last song: "Beehive" and "Album End", which were known as "Tragedy" and "Say Something", respectively, on 3rd Draft.
Best Buy released the album with a bonus track: "Repeat Defender".
Two unreleased songs from the recording sessions are "All Your Crimes" and "Bellman".
3rd Draft is the name given by fans to Alien Ant Farm's third album. The naming relates to a piece of the artwork that says 3rd Draft; since then, the band has referred to the album by that name as well. Due to issues with Geffen, it was never commercially released. It was, however, made available by the band during the Alien Ant Farm 2005 Tour.
Track listing:
"Bad Morning" – 3:42
"What I Feel Is Mine" – 2:58
"It Could Happen" – 3:53
"Around the Block" – 3:16
"San Sebastian" – 3:05
"Lord Knows" – 3:06
"Getting Closer" – 3:48
"Crickets" – 4:36
"Supreme Lifestyle" – 3:56
"Consti2tion" – 3:38
"State of Emergency" – 3:29
"Sleepwalker" – 3:06
"She's Only Evil" – 8:26
There are two hidden tracks appended to the last song: "Tragedy" and "Say Something", which were known as "Beehive" and "Album End", respectively, on Up in the Attic.
