Fush Yu Mang
Smashmouth have their gig down. They're a ska-metal combo and they look it, breathe it, and sound it--from the requisite short hair to the thumping bass to the mostly silly lyrics. They've got something more, though--namely a pop sensibility that really clicks, if only here and there. The brilliant single "Walking on the Sun," with its arch wordplay, great production and undeniable hooks, will probably land them on the ever-growing pile of 1990's one-hit wonders, but there's some other good stuff to investigate onFush Yu Mang; chiefly the insightful props of "The Fonz" and the angry "Nervous in the Alley." You can forget the lame closing cover of War's "Why Can't We Be FriENDs" though.--Michael Ruby