What exactly is Kurt Cobain's legacy at this point? We're left with a couple great records, sure, but I'm talking musical influence here. From where I sit, 95% of the bands that have seemed somehow derivative of Nirvana have also sucked. Bad. Why is this? And don't say, "It's because derivative bands are weak, man." Fugazi and Built to Spill were Nirvana contemporaries back in the day, and look at all the interesting bands they've inspired. Is it something about the nature of Nirvana's art that prevents translation? Does it have to do with the way major label A&R; reps recruited Nirvana soundalikes in the grunge aftermath? Is it some kind of conspiracy involving Courtney Love and the late El Duce?

I ask these questions in the context of this Sunna review because much of One Minute Science directly cops the Nirvana sound. And in keeping with the trend, this album sucks. Part of the resemblance comes in the form of Sunna frontman John Harris' voice; both the tonal quality and the phrasing are Straight Outta Aberdeen. This doesn't seem like such a terrible thing on the surface (I consider Cobain's singing on "Negative Creep" to be the greatest rock vocal performance since Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone"), but the slavish imitation is irritating, particularly on the songs that also resemble Nirvana's dynamic songwriting style.

"I'm Not Trading" is one of the worst offenders in this regard, pulling snatches of melody from both "Drain You" (albeit a bit slowed down) and "Lithium." "Too Much" is one of the few tunes that opts for a more atmospheric, trip-hop approach, but it fails to generate any interesting moods or melodies. The brightest moments on One Minute Science are the simplest-- the places where Harris doesn't try so hard to find a specific sound and opts to just deliver a song straight-up. "O.D.," despite its regrettable title, is quite pretty, and "I Miss" features some nice falsetto singing over an acoustic guitar.

Perhaps it's ultimately the soft/loud songwriting style, when paired with grungilicious vocals, that causes such revulsion. I simply heard too much of this sort of thing on the radio in the early '90s. Sure, I liked hearing Nirvana's "Verse Chorus Verse" on The Edge as much as the next Gen X'er, but then there was Bush, and Stone Temple Pilots, and Silverchair, and Alice in Chains... must I go on? These are the memories that return when I hear One Minute Science, and they are unwelcome. We are not yet ready for grunge nostalgia. Are we?

-Mark Richard-San