In the liner notes to their major label debut, Oklahoma City's Hinder endorse tequila, Belvedere, Crown Royal, Jägermeister, and Mr. Watson 540. In "Get Stoned," photogenic Austin Winkler (who sounds tougher than he looks) rasps, "Let's go home and get stoned." Later, he adds, "The break-up is worth the make-up sex you're givin' me." In "Bliss (I Don't Wanna Know)," the lead singer laments, "The vodka's running on empty." This is a problem because, "I can't stay sober/if it's over." But things pick up in "Room 21" where he meets a "b*tch" with "red lipstick and pale pink boots," who shows him a good time (yes, he said boots). And he doesn't even know her name! The days of big hair-and-spandex metal may be long gone, but in songwriting terms, Hinder's music is a throwback to the politically incorrect Sunset Strip days of Guns N' Roses, LA Guns, and Faster Pussycat. For some hard-rock aficionados, they will surely come as a breath of fresh air. For those with more refined tastes--a blast of stale cigarette smoke. That said, "Homecoming Queen" is surprisingly tender ("She never walked on water/'cause no one really saw her"), proving that way down deep inside, the frisky fivesome does have a teeny, tiny, little beating heart. Overall though, if the platinum long-player, which was cowritten with producer Brian Howes, has a message, it's this: Girl, you broke my heart and I hate you for it. Oh, and alcohol is good. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
