by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

"Name" changed the game for the Goo Goo Dolls. Prior to that unexpected hit ballad, the Buffalo trio was pretty much content to turn out amiably sloppy rock & roll in the style of the Replacements. Like the latter-day 'Mats, they weren't adverse to cleaning up their sound a little bit, but once they had a hit, they were happy to jump headfirst into the mainstream, cleaning up their rockers until they shone and embracing acoustic power ballads instead of shunning them. In fact, "Iris" -- their contribution to the City of Angels soundtrack and lead single for their sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl -- is a virtual rewrite of "Name." The funny thing is, where most college rock bands of the Bush era sounded awkward as mainstream rockers, the Goo Goo Dolls actually sound better as a mainstream band, partially because they were hardly underground in the first place. Like a less mannered and conflicted Let Your Dim Light Shine-era Soul Asylum, the trio balances hard rockers with ballads. The difference is, they enjoy the mainstreaming of their music and respond with one of their catchiest sets of songs. There's nothing new on the record apart from their willingness to polish their music so it reaches the widest audience. That will alienate whatever hardcore followers they have left, but that attitude will likely please anyone brought aboard with "Name" and "Iris."