Music is an integral part of most of the world’s human population. I know for me, music is like oxygen, I fear I would wither up and die without it. If you are like me, one of the great disappointments in your life is when you realize you may never hear music from one of your favorite bands again. Case in point, Puddle of Mudd. Full disclosure, the band’s 2001 Mega-hit album, Come Clean (Flawless Records) was the soundtrack of my life for many moons. I cannot hear ‘She Hates Me’ or ‘Blurry’ without being whisked backward in time to moments where life seemed simple and happiness is all I knew. I cannot express the jubilation I felt when I opened my email and realized that I had been given a gift from the heavenly gods of Rock and Roll, the new album by Puddle of Mudd. Yes, folks, you read that right. After almost ten years, Puddle of Mudd is releasing their sixth studio album, Welcome to Galvania (Pavement Entertainment).

The album opens with the gritty, guitar hook-laden ‘You Don’t Know’. The album’s first track seemingly presents its self to be the musical equivalent of the middle finger. Frontman Wes Scantlin delivers the message, “You don’t know what it’s like to live in my world, you can’t feel what it’s like to be in my head” barely masking his contemptuous tone. The second track, ‘Uh Oh’ features that whimsical tongue in cheek vibe that made Puddle of Mudd so relatable to people of all ages and walks of life. The track, which is the first single from the album, is a boisterous romp, replete with a healthy peppering of the F-bomb. The sixth track, ‘Time Of Our Lives’, is the goosebump-inducing, trip down memory lane producing, feelgood ditty of the album. A melancholy arpeggio guitar intro paints a bittersweet backdrop that bleeds into frontman Scantlin’s requiem to the long lost unencumbered moments of youth.

Before I bid you adieu, I feel I must steer your attention to three tracks on this album that would definitely be in the ‘honorable mention’ category if this were an awards banquet. Track Three, ‘Go To Hell’, Track Five, ‘My Kind of Crazy’, and Track Ten, ‘Slide Away’. Each of these songs are impressive enough in their own right to be one of the next singles to be released off of this album. ‘Go To Hell’ has a well crafted sarcastic undertone coursing through the body of the song that unabashedly broaches the topic of theology. ‘My Kind of Crazy’ unfurls into a twisted tale of love and hate, that is both relatable and impassioned. The final track of the album, ‘Slide Away’ delivers the signature Puddle Of Mudd sound with a potent one-two punch of somber reality and palpable contrition.

I can safely say, without a doubt, that Welcome To Galvania will effortlessly become the soundtrack for the unparalleled memories of 2019 and beyond for Puddle of Mudd fans, new and old alike. Yes, this album was a long time coming, and I certainly hope we, as fans, don’t have to wait another ten years for the next album from Puddle Of Mudd.

6 / 10

SKULLGURL METALCHICK