Candlebox were one of the first acts to bridge the divide between Seattle-bred grunge and mainstream hard rock. In the mid '90s they dropped a string of hits that fold dark edginess into big radio hooks: “You” established the template for the post-grunge power ballad thanks to its agile flip between brooding atmospherics and thick, crushing riffs; on the groove-laden “Simple Lessons”, bass and drums lunge ferociously while Kevin Martin's baritone breaks into a raspy wail. The 2016 single “Vexatious” finds the vets opening up their trademark muscularity to soaring classic rock melodicism.