Foot in Mouth Disease

by Johnny LoftusEver since 1996's Too Late No Friends, Gob has been steadily moving toward stardom. With each succeeding album, the Vancouver, Canada, band's sound moved farther away from the snide vocals and air-raid guitars of its debut, and closer to the anthemic sugar-punk popularized by Blink-182. But widespread (i.e., American) success continued to elude Gob, despite numerous Warped Tour appearances and the explosive success of fellow Canadian brats Sum 41. That will all change with Foot in Mouth Disease, their debut full-length for Arista Records. Producer Mark Trombino (Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World) has boxed up any remaining traces of the Sex Pistols' swagger from Gob's early work and buried it in L.A. Reid's backyard. Replacing that are 14 mind-bogglingly catchy jawbreakers that are closer to the Knack than the Clash. The pogoing "Lemon-Aid," "This Evil World," and "Give up the Grudge" arrive just in time for summer; the latter even includes gratuitous swearing on this, the explicit version of the album. It's also about as punk as a clip-on safety-pin nose ring.