Foxboro Hot Tubs — Stop Drop And Roll!!!

If you've wondered what Green Day have been doing since the 2004 release of American Idiot, here's part of your answer. This garage rock side-project of the most commercially successful punk-based group of the past 15 years features additional members Jason White and Kevin Preston on guitar and Jason Freese on keyboards. Lead single "Mother Mary" shares a similar melody to Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life" and you can hear shades of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" in "She's A Saint Not A Celebrity." There are worse songs than those to borrow from. Second single "The Pedestrian" is a bouncy pop number that's sure to elicit a grin, while mild psychedelia wends its way through "Red Tide" and "Dark Side Of Night." Saxophone joins the cranked guitars and organ on the closing rave-up, "Pieces Of Truth." If you like The Hives, you can't go wrong with Stop Drop And Roll!!! It may not be groundbreaking, but it's fun, and that's good enough for a record to kick off your summer. And I'm almost certain that I'd prefer a follow-up to this over another Green Day album.