by Bryan Buss

On Crash! Boom! Bang! Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson rock harder than on their pop-friendly albums prior to this, and the result shows growth but not the fun that made them so popular in the first place. Sharing lead vocals, they prove their voices are still in top form, and Gessle's songwriting skills are still sharp, but the hooks aren't as catchy. To go from the painfully pretty "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)" on Joyride to the apathetic "Vulnerable" on this album shows a serious downward slide. Despite this, however, the tender title track is one of the best ballads they've recorded; and with their loose, jangly guitars, "Sleeping in my Car" and "Harleys & Indians (Riders in the Sky)" are skillful pop/rock songs that might have been too pop for rock listeners and too rock for mid-'90s pop fans. Though the two have an edge on this album, they almost seem to have become a bit bored.