Music review: Goo Goo Dolls – ‘Boxes’
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to be yourself when everyone around is changing,鈥� declares singer John Rzeznik on the opening track of his band鈥檚 latest album.
Fortunately, the Goo Goo Dolls manage to stay true to a back-to-basics formula that ultimately produces an infectious collection of pure pop-rock bliss.
On 鈥淥ver and Over,鈥� Rzeznik repeatedly encourages us to turn it on and turn it up, and I confess that I obediently followed along by playing the Buffalo band鈥檚 latest release constantly over the last two weeks.
I鈥檝e been a fan since the days of 1993鈥檚 鈥淪uperstar Car Wash鈥� when the Goo Goo Dolls played with more of a punk-pop edge.
After recently catching a rerun of 鈥淟ive from Daryl鈥檚 House鈥� with Rzeznik stopping by for a spirited jam, I was more than anxious to hear the band鈥檚 new material.
Living up to my high expectations, the 11th studio album from the alt-rockers is a delightful combination of melodic guitar riffs, contagious melodies and insightful lyrics.
With tracks like 鈥淪ouls in the Machine,鈥� 鈥淭he Pin鈥� and 鈥淩everse,鈥� the new album delivers some fantastic guitar-driven tunes centered around the polished vocals of Rzeznik, who sounds better than ever.
On 鈥淏oxes,鈥� the Goo Goo Dolls seem to have rekindled the charismatic flair first featured on 1995鈥檚 breakout album 鈥淎 Boy Named Goo鈥� that contained the hits 鈥淣ame鈥� and 鈥淣aked,鈥� launching the band atop rock鈥檚 mainstream menu and later solidifying success on 1998鈥檚 鈥淒izzy Up the Girl鈥� with songs like 鈥淪lide,鈥� Broadway鈥� and the mega-hit 鈥淚ris.鈥�
鈥淔lood鈥� highlights a delightful pairing between Rzeznik and Echosmith鈥檚 lead vocalist, Sydney Sierota, on a relationship tale that reminds me of the charming collaboration from Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson on 2009鈥檚 鈥淏reak Up.鈥�
The smooth-singing Rzeznik temporarily steps aside from the microphone to allow bassist Robby Takac to add his gritty vocals to 鈥淔ree of Me鈥� and 鈥淧rayer in My Pocket鈥� for a slight change of pace that harkens back to the band鈥檚 early days.
鈥淏oxes鈥� breathes new life into the Goo Goo Dolls with its catchy pop-rock arrangements that are instantly likeable and hard to forget.