Released in September 2005,
Hinder's
Extreme Behavior revives the simpleton riffs and stupid misogyny of 2001 albums from
Puddle of Mudd and
Nickelback for a whole new batch of undergrads. This isn't even post-grunge -- it's straight-up dude rock. The artwork is a triggered response collage of boobs, lingerie, and Jäger, and the music is so obvious that it actually recedes from the ear. Like a stereo left on in the keg room, it's just a chatter of swear words and tuneless electric guitar blab.
Austin Winkler sounds like a drunk shouting along with
Chad Kroeger, and his lyrics? "Let's go home and get stoned/Cause the sex is so much better when you're mad," "She said she's sorry/With one finger/I said fuck that," "She said she loved the taste of my oh oh oh" --
Winkler doesn't even have enough class to fake sounding cool. When
Hinder and producer
Brian Howes (he co-wrote every song with the band;
Nickelback producer Joey Moi also gets a credit) do try a little tenderness, they sound like a bludgeoned
Wallflowers ("Nothin' Good About Goodbye"), thudding power ballad torchbearers ("Lips of an Angel"; cue the soaring solo stolen from hair metal), or bumbling
Guns N' Roses thieves (the played-out "Sweet Child" rewrite "Homecoming Queen").
Extreme Behavior can't even make it as rote hard rock -- it's too insulting to women and your intelligence. That's why it's dude rock instead.
Hinder are so egregiously dull they appeal not to fans of music, but fans of high fives. [The 2007 U.K. edition includes two bonus tracks.] ~ Johnny Loftus