Get The Picture

Smash Mouth make no apologies for keeping the party going on their fourth album. There they again turn out a lighthearted mix of surf music, reggae lite, and beach anthems, even going so far as to graft a snippet of the Beach Boy's "Good Vibrations" onto "Hot" just to make sure we don't miss the point that they are the preeminent summer band of their time. But they're at their best when they're anthropomorphizing their cars ("Hot") or singing the praises of driving in the fast lane, ("105") as they turn up the heat on the subversive-sounding Farfisa organ, conjuring up the greasy spirit of ? & the Mysterians. They're less appealing when they're reminiscing about the awkwardness of a school dance on "Seventh Grade Dance" or extolling mall culture. --Jaan Uhelszki