| Numb | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Hammerbox |
| Cover: | Numb (Hammerbox album) (cover art).jpg |
| Released: | 1993 |
| Genre: | Alternative rock, grunge-pop |
| Length: | 41:59 |
| Label: | A&M |
| Producer: | Michael Beinhorn |
| Prev Title: | Hammerbox |
| Prev Year: | 1991 |
| Next Title: | Live EMP Skychurch, Seattle, WA |
| Next Year: | 2005 |
Numb is the second and final studio album by the American band Hammerbox.[1] [2] It was released in 1993 on A&M Records.[3] The first single was "Hole".[4]
The band supported the album by touring with King Missile and Sloan, among others.[5] [6] The stress of being on a major label led in part to the band's breakup, as did A&M's inability to promote the album.[7] [8]
The album was produced by Michael Beinhorn.[9] Although signed to a major label, the band tried to make the album sound more raw than its independent debut.[10]
Spin wrote that the album's "high-impact, tuneful noise expands on the earlier album's promise, refining the songcraft without sacrificing any of its nervy edge."[11] The Record considered it "for Seattle completists only," writing that Hammerbox "don't manage to imbue the already-tired genre with much personality of their own."[12]
The Los Angeles Times noted that "Carrie Akre's trained, Pat Benatar-like vocals seemed predictable in the context of the rough-and-tumble, high-speed music."[13] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette likened the sound of Numb to "the Indigo Girls trapped in Kurt Cobain's body."[14] Similarly, The Oregonian compared Hammerbox to "Melissa Etheridge fronting Nirvana," writing that "the band has precious few songs with sufficient structural clarity, melodies or even distinctive riffs."[15]