Gutterflower

For years the Goo Goo Dolls did a great Replacements impersonation, and no one cared. It wasn’t until they started looking like Bon Jovi and sounding like Better Than Ezra that MTV came a-courtin’. And while Gutterflower marks the Goos’ return to power pop, it won’t dispel their status as the uncontested champs of wuss rock. It’s still slick as all hell, though compared with the putrid pabulum they’ve been pushing, well-crafted rockers “Think About Me” and “Smash” are minor revelations. Too little, way too late.