Puddle of Mudd aren't bragging with the title of their third album,
Famous, nor is its title song a self-congratulatory ironic anthem like
Nickelback's "Rockstar." No, as always,
Puddle of Mudd are mind-numbingly literal, sneering at the young Hollywood celebs who are famous for being famous -- read, the holy trinity of
Britney/
Lindsay/
Paris -- spitting out insults over a cleaned-up
Nirvana riff, one that's been polished with the assistance of hard rock writer-for-hire
Brian Howes, who has penned hits for
Hinder and
DAUGHTRY.
Howes isn't the only new name here -- drummer
Greg Upchurch and guitarist Paul Phillips bolted after the 2004 release of
Life on Display, replaced by Ryan Yerdon and
Christian Stone, respectively. There may be new blood, but
Puddle of Mudd still sound like
Nirvana for Dummies, flattening out all the quirks and danger inherent in that Seattle trio, turning the sound inside out so it supports
Wesley Scantlin's blunt, sentimental tripe instead of
Kurt Cobain's elusive emotions. That approach helped bring them frat-boy fans on their debut, thanks in large part to their smarmy singalong "She Hates Me," but on
Famous Scantlin avoids any icky, nasty emotions in favor of slick soundcraft. This results in an album that's hookier than
Life on Display -- thanks in no small part to all the professional songwriters aboard, including
Kara DioGuardi, who in no small irony has written with
Britney Spears,
Lindsay Lohan, and
Paris Hilton -- but by downplaying those noxious elements of
Puddle of Mudd's music,
Famous winds up sounding faceless and forgettable. [
Famous was also made available in a "clean" version, with all profanities removed.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine