Sponge

After two albums that established them as a leading force in the crowded rock realm of the ’90’s, Detroit rockers Sponge knew exactly what they wanted their third release, New Pop Sunday to sound likeTight. Crafted. Challenging. And loud.

Of course, that should be no surprise to those who had their ears rattled by Rotting Pinata or Wax Ecstaticor by Sponge’s raging live performances during the past four and a half years.

As frontman and chief songwriter Vinnie Dombroski says, “People kind of understand this band to be more of an energetic rock band than a pretty-faced, balladeering group of guys, y’know?”

“We’ve always felt we were a rock band,” adds guitarist Mike Cross. “And when I say rock band, I mean a modern rock band, meaning we’ve got two guitar players, a singer that’s 90 lbs. and loud guitars and big amps. And we take our early influences and really modernize them.

“This time I think we really came to terms with that. I think we went in and said ‘Now, what works the best? What is the authentic sound for this group?’ I think we really pinpointed that with this record right now.”

The authentic sound of Sponge, of course, is an amalgam of its five members, who first came together in Detroit during 1993. It’s the textured walls of guitar, built more on instinct than design, from Cross and Joey Mazzola. It’s Tim Cross’s bass swooping and charging through their riffs, and Charlie Groverwho Mazzola refers to as “that pounder of a drummer of ours”propelling everything with his granite, in-the-pocket rhythms.

And it’s the charismatic presence of frontman Vinnie Dombroski, whose voice is the perfect vessel to deliver the provocative, heart-on-his-sleeve lyrics that mark Sponge’s songs, including radio hits such as “Plowed” and “Molly (Sixteen Candles)” from its gold debut album Rotting Pinata (1995) and “Wax Ecstatic” and “Have You Seen Mary” from the critically lauded follow-up, Wax Ecstatic (1996).

When those elements are combined, the result is a swirling sonic attack that has its roots the classic rock of the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, ’70’s glam and, of course, the Motor City influences of the Stooges, The MC% and Motownbut at the same time sounds like nothing else.

“We definitely have our own sound,” says Mazzola. “If you listen to our records, it’s unmistakable. As far as putting my finger on it, I hate to get real specific about it. It’s the five of us.”