So what’s the problem with Gutterflower, their follow-up to the six-times platinum Dizzy Up The Girl? Not a lot, really: it’s just that those familiar with the band’s previous releases – and that probably includes you – may be getting tired of hearing, as Rzeznik once sang, “the same tired song on the radio.”

This, of course, is not to suggest that the Goo Goo Dolls plunge into some self-indulgent period of “creative experimentation” in which they take violin bows to their guitars and wear dresses onstage: it’s safe to state that such a drastic switch works only for the most talented musicians and is for others a one-way ticket to oblivion.

It’s really more about the fact that the Goo Goo Dolls’ music is very hit or miss: it's either the occasional poignant melody that will move even the pickiest listener or the listenable but bloodless ditty. On Dizzy Up The Girl, the former category outweighed the latter; on Gutterflower, it seems to be the reverse. While songs like “Thing About Me,” “What Do You Need?” and “Big Machine” beg the listener to turn back for more, the majority of the songs pass by without much notice. For this reason, the lack of variety becomes even more apparent. As it’s no longer a question of creativity, perhaps they’ll simply have better luck next time.