Smash Mouth – Smash Mouth

Artist: Smash Mouth

Title: Smash Mouth

Label: Interscope

Rating: 5/10

Smash Mouth has a new album out? Who cares? That sounds harsh, but even after listening to the self-titled album, I’m still wondering.

Smash Mouth is so content just making the same old happy la la music, as usual. That is all well and good, except in this case it isn’t good. The organ grinds and grinds pop hooks slathered in bubblegum dreams. It sounds like these guys are still trying to pick up high school chicks after the big game. The schmaltz is on. To prove they have no real dignity, a cover of the Monkees’ “I’m A Believer”, originally on the Shrek soundtrack, is brought back for an undue encore. Come on, guys, you didn’t have another track laying around? Perhaps they could have done that version of Van Halen’s “Panama” they do live. At least it sounds good.

“Disenchanted” sounds like one of the more rarified tracks I’ve ever heard Smash Mouth do. We need more of this, if for nothing more than to prove these guys are a good rock-solid band. But alas, they give us “Pacific Coast Party”, which pretty much sums up this whole album with their sunny-Sunday-at-the-beach music. It’s all good in their world, yet I’m not quite sure I’d want to live there.

+ rae gun