Out of the Vein [Limited Edition w/ Bonus DVD]
Perhaps Third Eye Blind should have titled their third album "Same Vein," since the record offers more of what put the San Francisco band on the map--brainy stream-of-conscious lyrics, big choruses, chunky fretwork, and a liberal dose of sexual innuendo. Frontman Stephan Jenkins engages in some artistic bloodletting here, opening a  vein and allowing all the anguish he's experienced over the last few years to spill into these songs.  Twelve of the 14 compositions find Jenkins recounting his messy breakup with South African actress Charlize Theron. He veers from attempting to lure her back with facile wordplay and exhaustive sexual promises to being haunted by her cover-girl face every time he passes a newsstand. He even conjures her face before he hits the pavement on "My Hit and Run," which chronicles a motorcycle accident. To his credit, Jenkins is much more interesting a songwriter when he's wounded, offering candor that's not evident on TEB's first two discs.--Jaan Uhelszki