When I first started listening to this album, I started to feel better about my thoughts on Goldfinger's previous release, Stomping Ground. That album had a few great songs on it (Counting the Days, San Simeon, 99 Red Balloons), but it also had a lot of filler (too many songs to list). Something just didn't click on the album.
Now I'm comfortable in admitting that, because this album is MUCH better. I don't know why, but this album just comes together a lot better than Stomping Ground did and it has therefore renewed my faith in Goldfinger's songwriting abilities.
The album kicks off with "Going Home," a straight forward pop-punk song that really sets the pace for the entire album: fast and loud! Next up is my favorite song on the album, "Spokesman." It's a song about the band's general hatred for the music industry ("What happened to integrity/I don't see it on MTV/All I see is choreography/And I'll never be a dancer!). It's definitely the strongest song on the album. After that is the title track on the album, and apparently the first single. A bit of an odd choice, since I think it's one of the weaker songs on the album.
The album has very little filler (at least, in comparison to Stomping Ground). Some of the weaker songs include "Tell Me," "Happy," "It's Your Life," and the aformentioned "Open Your Eyes."
Other highlights include "Woodchuck" (one of the funniest songs I've heard in a long time), "Dad" (a song about John Feldman's dad), and "Spank Bank." I'm also especially pleased that they included both "Radio" and "Fuck Ted Nugent" from the Stomping Ground 7". Although "Fuck Ted Nugent" now has a verse about Jennifer Lopez in place of the verse about Farrah Fawcett (I personally preferred the old version, but whaddayagonnado).
Overall, I think that this is Goldfinger's best release since their 1996 self-titled album, but doesn't quite manage to top the self-titled. They manage to bring together all the different sounds they've tried on their past albums into one great package here. I definitely recommend picking this up if you're a fan of any of Goldfinger's previous albums. You won't be disappointed!