Published on Jun 7, 2005
For a brief time, Smashmouth was on top with "Walkin' on the Sun" and "All Star," the latter of which was everywhere in 2001. The band faded pretty quickly after that, but left behind an overlooked pop gem in Astro Lounge.
This is your standard party album but it has enough twists and turns on the surf-pop formula to make it interesting. Smashmouth never tries to be more serious than their standard messages: Have fun, take care of each other, and things will be OK.
There's a spirit of 60s surf rock and later bands like 311 running through here, but the sound of the band isn't comparable to anyone else. Early highlights include the skipping "Diggin' Your Scene," the sunny day opener "Who's There" and the spacey "Fallen Horses."
"Waste" is a surprisingly emotional song of regret and "Then the Morning Comes" is the best number here, though the closing cover of "Can't Get Enough of You Baby" comes close. Even "All Star" sounds better in its original album context.
Some CDs just sound great with the car roof down on a hot day, and this is definitely one of them. Surf's up. Party on!