REVIEW: Smash Mouth, Astro Lounge (Interscope)
- Jason Cahill
You've got to give them credit. Smash Mouth could have easily modeled themselves after bands like Sugar Ray or the Goo Goo Dolls by releasing an album solely created with commercial possibilities in mind. Instead, Smash Mouth have followed up their breakout debut, Fush Yu Mang, with an album as daring and original as it is good. Astro Lounge is a brave departure from Smash Mouth's debut, showcasing an impressive maturity rare in today's ska/punk world. Credit returning producer Eric Valentine, who seems to have challenged the band to experiment and grow, both musically and lyrically. From the opening notes of "Who's There," it becomes apparent that this is a band intent on destroying the notion that they are nothing more than one-hit wonders treading dangerously close to the end of their fifteen minutes of fame.
The musical styles on Astro Lounge range everywhere from '60s lounge to '80s Brit-pop, and everything in between. "Radio," the album's true standout, is a full-on rocker with a nod to early-'80s Elvis Costello. "Diggin' Your Scene" has a kind of beach party feel to it, heavy on the keyboards and Beach Boys influences. "Waste" is a lush piece of psychedelic splendor, "Fallen Horses" hauntingly beautiful.
Of course, the album has its share of Smash Mouth's playful ska sounds, best represented by the album's first single, "All Star," which is quite possibly the band's catchiest tune and one of the year's best singles.
Lyrically, guitarist Greg Camp, who wrote the majority of material on Astro Lounge as well as their first album, is in top-notch form. Always a bit sardonic and clever (."..you pushed the reset button on the counter of my heart"), Camp's lyrics have grown more vivid and crystallized. Topics on Astro Lounge range from troubled relationships ("Waste") to the power of addictions ("Diggin' Your Scene"), both cautionary tales told with just a hint of sarcasm.
Astro Lounge isn't perfect. It stalls at times, only to pick up again a few songs later, and it has its share of throwaways ("Home" immediately comes to mind). Yet listen closely, and you'll hear a band in transition, striving to shed the image of one-hit wonders while creating an album as diverse as their influences.
