Smash Mouth

Smash Mouth is a thoroughly pro affair, a big, sunny, California-style modern-rock record that looks and sounds like a big hit. Producer Eric Valentine’s work on Deathray’s debut may have been an aesthetic mismatch, but his sharpened, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach really works for this San Jose band. While guitarist Greg Camp penned all but three of the tunes here, perhaps the coolest number came from bassist Paul DeLisle, whose “Pacific Coast Party” opens with a flourish of Barry White strings, then kicks into ebullient pop-anthem mode. But Camp’s contributions, from the opening “Holiday in My Head” to such quirky tunes as “Shoes’N’Hats” and “Disenchanted,” are also quite nifty. The set closes with a turbocharged cover of “I’m a Believer,” the old Neil Diamond-penned Monkees hit. Oh, and that blond guy on the left with the arched eyebrow is former local Mike Urbano.