As the former lead singer of
Buck Cherry,
Josh Todd had a hard rock edge that worked. On this album, his first under his own moniker, the performer offers up a series of slick, radio-friendly rock tunes that are slightly catchy but far from memorable. In fact, disposable might be a crueler but more honest assessment. Such an example is the opening "Mind Infection," which veers all over the musical map from rock to grunge to a metal-cum-nu metal malaise. The
Limp Bizkit style of "Broken" and "Blast" has a nice opening, but then descends into something
Methods of Mayhem or
Crazy Town might try on for size. The buildup to the chorus is OK, but then completely misses the mark. The softer touches on "The Walls" seems safe, but far too clichéd despite the improved chorus and arrangement. The tighter power riffs on "Flowers & Cages" fares better, sounding like an angry
Jimmy Eat World in places. Possibly the highlight is "Shine," which recalls
Creed or
Collective Soul as guitarists Mike Hewitt and Jesse Logan live up to its song title. The melodic "Afraid" follows a similar blueprint with
Todd singing more than growling. However, one sleeper is the mid-tempo pop/rock of "Circles," which is far catchier and infectious than nearly everything else presented. The play-by-numbers rave up "Straight Jacket" brings to mind a military-styled
Nine Inch Nails as
Todd echoes the refrain often. The last few numbers are basically filler, including the appropriately titled "Wasted."
–
Jason MacNeil, Rovi