The year is 2001 and I am an angry teenager, amongst this back set was the first time I heard of Puddle of Mudd! As a Nirvana fan I instantly took this album to my heart. Not only was the music reminiscent as part of the Post-Grunge wave that saw bands like Creed and Nickleback rise to fame, Wes Scantlin’s vocals were eerily similar to those of Kurt Cobain’s. Like the Nevermind album, Come Clean hit the teen angst market, with themes of isolation and depression, but Puddle of Mudd also added relationships and especially the breakdown of relationships as the main themes to their songs. This made them a big fixture in my school, and across the Teenage world. Just after buying this album came out I saw them in Munich paying little over €10, which was one of the defining moments of my growing up, with this in mind try to forgive my bias in places!
Now onto the album itself
Control The first song of the album, and the song that first brought me to their attention. The song itself is very energetic and powerful with dirty guitars and strong vocals riddled with distortion and feedback. Like most of the album, it is angst filled to the brim and about a past relationship which went sour. This song will appeal to you particularly if your last girlfriend was a controlling b!tch and if you like high energy impact rock it’s a great way to open an album 3.5/5
Drift and Die This has become one of my favourite songs of the album. Is a stark difference to Control which has a full on Heavy Rock sound, this has a more mellow acoustic feel. Again the lyrics are filled with the angst of a spurned lover, the vocals in the chorus are particular powerful and there is a good guitar solo toward the end with a strong grunge sound and heavy guitaring 4/5
Out of My Head This starts of with a good guitar riff reminiscent of the Nirvana sound during the days of Nevermind. Again, the song has an anger from Wes that resemblance Kurt Cobain's which is a little unnerving! This song is all about isolation, and feeling a sense of not belonging. Very good song 3/5
Nobody Told Me This is of the same vain as the previous songs, a lot of angst, plenty of distortion and dirty guitaring. As well as Out of My Head, this song is about feeling out of place in the world and trying to find a sense of belonging. The lines “Same old ***, different day, gotta get up, gotta up” are very striking and is what most people will remember from this song, which is ashame because musically it is a very good song. If you were into the whole Grunge scene of the early-mid 90s you will love this, the only downside is the lyrics get a bit repetitive 2.5/5
Blurry This was the second single. It is a song about Wes' son, and is a little less heavy and as full on as the other songs. It is very touching in parts and can be easily misunderstood to be a song about a lover. This song has claimed a great deal of acclaim especially in the Emo scene, of which alot of my friends belong. Despite all of the sentiment behind, I don’t like this as much as the rest of the songs on the album. It is not because it was their 2nd biggest commercial hit; it just seems to drag on which is particularly bad as it becomes very repetitive. None the less it is not a bad song should be shortened though. 3/5
She ***ing Hates Me Now this song is Puddle of Mudd’s biggest commercial success and their 3rd Single. This song unlike the others has a great sense of humour to it. Despite being filled with angst the lyrics are brilliantly funny and the music video likewise. The lyrics “she was queen for bout an hour, after that *** got sour” and the “she ***ing hates me” in a whiney voice at the end show that the band weren’t just about angst and depression. However, showing how dense I am its only recently that my guitar teaching pointed out to me that they stole the riff to Smells like Teen Spirit for the main riff of this song. 4/5
Bring Me Down Back to the furious guitars and strained vocals to match! Despite the lack of variety, this style I could never get bored of. Despite the depressive lyrics this song is full of energy and the drumming is excellent! 2.5/5
Never Change - This song is all about sticking two fingers up to the people that have tried to put Wes down in the past. It definitely builds a rapport with anyone who has been plagued with criticism and put downs (that will be me then). However, rather than showing encouragement it points out that things don’t change and you just have to deal with it. There is also a double meaning behind the song, as the chorus goes back to the reoccurring theme of the jilted lover “why did you have to go and change, couldn’t you just have stayed the same” screeches Wes… obviously a personal song – but is very catchy for those of us who identify 3/5
Basement Personally I don’t really like this song that much, however trying to be impartial its not that bad! I won’t go too much into the style of the actual music as it is actually much the same as I have mentioned in previous songs. The chorus is catchy, the only part of the song I like, and this is where it is best lyrically and musically. The general theme of the song is about being kept captive in the Basement, and sung from the captive’s point of view. The drumming is solid throughout and the energy of the song is kept high, 2.5/5
Said Said starts off acoustically like Drift and Die, but like the Drift and Die its not long before blazing guitars and distortion kick in for the chorus. It’s a nice song, but doesn’t have a deeper feeling to it other than just a bit of filler. 2/5
Piss It All Away This is another song that starts off slow it has some nice bongo style drumming and acoustic guitar which set the tone nicely. This is another song where Wes sounds remarkably like Kurt Cobain. Is quite mellow, but builds up toward the end like most of their songs on the album it seems like they can’t keep a mellow song throughout, they have some sort of desire or compulsion to delve into a heavy rocking style in every song. Still a good song despite this ending 3.5/5
Overall this is a great album, however if you wish me to be more critical I shall be! First the positives... it takes you back to the days of Soundgarden, Mudhoney and yes Nirvana. This was particularly pleasing as in 2001 we were barraged with Nu Metal/Rap Metal, dare I remind you of Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park? If you like consistancy, and grunge - this album is for you, each song you know what your going to get they all sound good, trashy and grungey! Now, if your not an angst filled teenager, with bouts of hormonal depression the vast majority of this album may be lost on you. Listening back to it now, some of the content does feel quite immature, and reminding you yes you did wish your ex girlfriend of 15 years old would drop dead! However, despite the teenage angst and macho-ness of some of the songs it still has some real gems - She ***ing Hates me is funny no matter how old you are, Blurry is still touching, Drift and Die and Piss it All Away are still very catchy, overall I'd give this a 3! Dont hit me!
The Band
Wes Scantlin - Vocals and Lead Guitar
Paul Phillips - Guitar
Douglas Ardito - Bass
Greg Upchurch - Drums
