Puddle of Mudd album is one big, grungy mess

Published 11:55 am Friday, December 3, 2010

On Tuesday, multiplatinum rock band Puddle of Mudd releases its new album, “Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love and Hate.”

TRIVIA: The group’s 2001 album, “Come Clean,” was one of the first releases from Fred Durst’s vanity label, Flawless Records.

STANDOUTS: “Pitchin’ a Fit,” a Nirvana knockoff, finds lead singer Wes Scantlin wailing, “It makes me sick when you’re in my face.”

FANS DIG: Angst.

ANDY SAYS: Puddle of Mudd just won’t go away. Each of its past three albums produced a No. 1 hit on the Billboard rock charts. Chalk that success up to the group’s ability to channel grunge-era greats.

Ultimately, though, the band is more Silverchair than it is Nirvana. Puddle of Mudd’s riffs run together, while its sex-and-drugs lyrics come off as a laughable attempt at sounding edgy. The mess only succeeds at making me miss Kurt Cobain.

GRADE: C-minus

Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com