Rollingstone 3/21/91

G. Asakawa 'New Faces'
Thrash-happy power pop

Looking back on `Jed,' their second album of thrash-packed pop and well-articulated rage, the Goo Goo Dolls are philosophical. ``That was a very angry record,'' says drummer George Tutuska. ``Whenever you embark on a creative endeavor, you're leaving a mark of where your emotions are at that moment. It's like leaving a photo scrapbook of yourself. But sometimes you look at those photos and say, `Oh, God.' '' For its third effort, Hold Me Up, the trio from Buffalo, New York, has traded anger for introspection. The sound remains the same, but the message is actually hopeful. ``I'm just a lot more comfortable with myself than I have been in my whole life,'' says singer-guitarist Johnny Rzeznik. ``You still have a lot of anxieties, but you kind of burn off that post-adolescent angst. That shows up in your work.'' But just because the band members are growing up doesn't mean their new record has to sound grown-up. Anchored by Tutuska's Neanderthal clubbing, the Goos reverberate like chain saws with a beat. The Goo Goo Dolls, in fact, are a throwback to the glory days of postpunk heroes like the Replacements and Husker Du -- bands that would wear their hearts on their sleeves if only their shirts weren't ripped to shreds. ``One of the biggest problems these days is there's no bands anymore,'' says singer-bassist Robby Takac. ``It's all projects and one-person efforts. It's just really aggressive Muzak.'' The band is so unwavering in its mission that it has twice used the ace Buffalo lounge crooner Lance Diamond for vocal chores. ``We tend to be kind of hedonistic when we're putting our records together, because, ultimately, we want pleasure out of it,'' says Rzeznik. ``Quite honestly, they don't pay us enough money to make an album that we don't want to listen to.''