3rd Secret/ 3rd Secret

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

3rd Secret/ 3rd Secret

Genre: Alternative indie-folk

Label: Self-released 

Rating: ***

In what's been the biggest rock surprise of the past few months, three big stars of the 1990s Seattle grunge movement launched the self-titled debut album of their new group 3rd Secret on Monday, April 11. Fans never knew it was coming. Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and drummer Matt Cameron, who's played with Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, have come together on this.

Joined by Void guitarist Bubba Dupree, and an interesting choice of two female vocalists Jillian Raye and Jennifer Johnson, they released 11 songs spread over 49 minutes. Grunge veteran Jack Endino is co-producer. Yet, though fans expected an out-and-out grunge album, the sound is more of alternative indie-folk, with some trademark Kim guitar passages thrown in off and on.

Jillian, who was part of Krist's band Giants In The Trees, has been co-credited with him and Matt for writing most songs. However, it's not clear which singer has sung which part, though one notices the difference in textures, one raw, the other on the sweet side.

The album begins on an acoustic note with 'Rhythm Of The Ride', with simple lines like "And I know it'll be just fine, so stay strong my love". It's a pleasant folk-tinged ditty though not the kind one expected. The follow-up 'I Choose Me' begins with some grungy guitars and pushes up the tempo, with the lines, "Say you will, lift me up, let me fall, say goodbye to the way let me live". The fuzz guitar fill-in and concluding fade-out are superb.

There's more of Kim's wizardry on 'Lies Fade Away and 'The Yellow Dress', besides the harmony-filled acoustic guitar laced 'Last Day Of August'. Vocally, there's an endearing quality on the pop-folk number 'Live Without You' and beautifully-sung 'Winter Solstice'. 'Dead Sea' has interesting lines like, "Out in a desert under a palm tree, I feel your gaze swimming in a dead sea", whereas 'Diamond In The Cold' is their closest brush with the old sound.

Overall, the songwriting is crisp, and the songs make for good driving or relaxworthy music. But it misses the rawness of the band's one associates the three main men with. Maybe it was a conscious decision to sound different, this being the first album together by Kim and Matt after Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell's death in 2017. In any case, it's a good boost for the careers of Jillian and Jennifer.