Released in September 2005,
Hinder's Extreme Behavior revives the riffs and misogynistic tone of 2001 albums from
Puddle of Mudd and
Nickelback for a whole new batch of undergrads. This isn't so much
post-grunge as it is straight-up dude rock. The artwork is a triggered response collage of lingerie and Jäger, and the music blares like a stereo left on in the keg room, all swear words and electric guitar blab.
Hinder singer
Austin Winkler is a stand-in for
Nickelback's
Chad Kroeger, and his lyrics? Like the chorus of lead single "Get Stoned" that asserts sex is better when the participants are angry and high,
Winkler doesn't show a lot of class on Behavior.
Hinder do try a little tenderness here and there. They sound like a heavier
Wallflowers on "Nothin' Good About Goodbye," and "Lips of an Angel" carries the power ballad torch complete with a soaring solo stolen from
hair metal's golden era. "Homecoming Queen" is another take on the good-girl-tarnished-by-big-bad-L.A. story; it's also a pretty obvious rewrite of
Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine." For the most part,
Hinder are all about big dumb rock, the kind of stuff that's happily ignorant of common courtesy or trying much of anything new musically. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
Robyn P. (