This problem surfaces because they sound natural when they're a little loose at that point, they're not too self-conscious to avoid hooks, which they seem to do quite often on Blue. TEB sound a little strained when they earnestly try to rock, and the same problem occasionally plagues their slower songs, though they do sound more self-confident there. Blue is certainly somber and serious, even with its moments of levity. It's as if he's trying to shake the ghost of "Semi-Charmed Life," the ingratiatingly hummable hit that gave TEB success but pegged them, in many observers' eyes, as a bubblegum one-hit wonder. Jenkins must have been aware of the fleeting nature of fandom in the '90s, since he pushes his band hard throughout the album.
By the 1999 release of Blue, the group's second album, many of their peers from 1997 had faded away. Under the direction of Stephan Jenkins, Third Eye Blind celebrated these same virtues, but since they arrived at a time when there were a lot of glossy, even slick, bands marketed as alternative rock, it's easy to see why many observers believed TEB were no different than the legions of post-grunge rockers who dominated the charts that year. Sure, Matchbox 20 sold more records, but for TEB devotees, the San Franciscan band carried the torch originally lit by such breakthrough alt-rock acts as U2 and INXS - big, glossy bands that unabashedly celebrated both hooks and rock classicism. Of all the second-wave post-grunge bands from 1997, Third Eye Blind cultivated the most dedicated fan base.
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