Got Me Wrong

This one moves. Where much of Alice in Chains operates in slow, gravitational pulls, "Got Me Wrong" has a groove that's almost funky in its insistence — the bass and drums working a pocket beneath guitar work that still carries the band's signature darkness, but lighter on its feet than usual. There's something almost playful in how the riff bounces, though "playful" in AIC terms means it's merely grinning while it does damage. Layne Staley sounds energized, his phrasing rhythmically elastic, bending around the beat in ways that suggest he's having something like fun with the performance even as the lyrics deal in misunderstanding and self-misrepresentation. The vocal harmonies arrive on cue, Cantrell's voice shading Staley's in that uncanny way they had — you can never fully separate the two strands, which makes the blend feel like one organism rather than two singers. The production has the warmth of the "Jar of Flies" EP recordings, intimate by the standards of a band known for massiveness. There's almost a late-night session quality to it, like it was captured quickly and honestly without excessive layering. Culturally, it sits in that moment when grunge was interrogating itself, when the bands that emerged from the underground were processing what recognition felt like from the inside. You'd put this on at the start of a drive, when you need something with momentum that doesn't demand you perform a particular mood in return.