Remember Smash Mouth? From like, 10 years ago? The song “All Star”? Turns out, they’re still a thing and their newest venture has me at a loss for words. They’ve gone ahead and released an EDM-oriented single, and it sounds exactly how you think it would… really not good. Channeling an inner ‘cool-dad’ mentality, the rock band has “produced” a 15-years-too-late sounding track titled “Love Is A Soldier,” teaming up with producer Specter, which features an absolutely basic melody and Steve Harwell’s iconic Smash Mouth vocals singing some less-than-ideal lyrics.
Seriously, I wish I could tell you why four 50-year-old dudes are trying to break into the electronic scene (after already being somewhat established and undoubtedly iconic members of the rock community) with a sex-related EDM single. But I can’t.
And their age really shows in the track, as it sounds like it could have come straight off one of their early 2000’s albums. While I’ll admit it’s getting catchier as I replay it while writing, it’s still nowhere near the realm of what’s acceptable. The overly simple beat sounds like it could have been made entirely with presets in less than five minutes, and there’s something about Harwell’s voice that seriously throws me off. I think it’s that fact that his voice makes me feel like I could get hit with a “SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME…” at any point in this track.
Check it out below for yourself and see if I’m being too harsh…