How do you review a band like matchbox twenty (formerly known as the less exotic sounding Matchbox 20)? They are very, very good at what they do, but what they do is so far afield from any conception of what a rock'n'roll band is, what a rock'n'roll band should be, that they almost defy criticism. At least they're not hiding the fact that this new album (whose full title is the pretentious mad season by matchbox twenty) sees them mutating into less of a rock outfit and more of what is commonly called ""adult contemporary"" -- in other words, music for soccer moms and rich yuppies to play really loud in their BMWs so that they feel young again, without having to deal with all that noisy, ugly Limp Bizkit and Rage Against The Machine stuff (hmm… maybe they should change their name to matchbox thirtysomething?).

Hey, I have no problem with people wanting to feel young again -- in fact, I'm on the wrong side of 30 myself and need a good jolt once in a while. But matchbox twenty, pleasant as they are, ain't gonna do it for me. Instead, they're pushing a polished, inoffensive blend of rock (but not too hard), R&B (but not too hot), a little blues (but not too dark), and a little country (but not too gritty) that's so polite it wouldn't offend the most rabid right-wing anti-rock crusader. The press materials that accompany the album refer to matchbox twenty as ""soulful,"" when in actuality, soul is the thing they have the least of.

So what are we left with? Some real pretty melodies and more hooks than a Japanese fishing boat, all coated in production so thick and rich you could pour it over ice cream. The guitars compete for space with all the strings, horns, and keyboards that pop up everywhere, invariably losing except on ""Bent"" and ""Stop"" (the closest to all-out rockers this disc has to offer). Meanwhile, lead singer and main tunesmith Rob Thomas croons in plaintive fashion, although admittedly he's not as overbearing as he was on the band's debut album. I have no doubt that Thomas believes every word he's singing. I just wish I did.

mad season is the perfect record company ""product"" -- it's user-friendly, it's non-controversial, and it's got songs that will get spun on every radio format known to man except maybe rap and classical. It was called Hootie and the Blowfish five years ago, but no matter what you call it now, it still ain't rock'n'roll.