Album A Day: Goo Goo Dolls – Let Love In

After an energetic, forceful record in Gutterflower, in which Johnny Rzeznik let loose on divorce, lost love, and general frustration, The Goo Goo Dolls switched gears and recorded their brightest album to date, and in general an unusually uplifting album in comparison with their peers.

One of the biggest challenges in writing a bright, cheerful album is keeping the energy levels up. On a darker record, it’s easy to just keep pumping out pissed-off energy for 45 minutes. Let Love In has the opposite task ahead of it; it’s a positive record fr0m start to finish, which is generally harder to maintain for that long. It’s easy to just let the emotion die down, or worse, to feign that positivity in the hopes that no one notices. In large part, The Goo Goo Dolls get a great deal of credit for navigating those tough waters with grace and skill to make Let Love In an enjoyable listen. “Stay With You” launches the positive energy out of a catapult with a wall of upbeat sound, while the wonderous choruses of “Better Days” and the title track keep the momentum going without feeling either forced or overwhelming. The acoustic-driven cover of Supertramp’s “Give A Little Bit” continues the sunshiney attitude until “Become” puts a sunset on this cloudless spring day of an album.

Let Love In isn’t an energizing, upbeat album in the same way that, say, Paramore’s Riot! is; that is, I wouldn’t play this record before a big game or performance. But when times are too bright to be sad and all you want to do is enjoy life a bit, you’d be in good shape with Let Love In as your soundtrack.

The Goo Goo Dolls – Let Love In [iTunes] (YSI)

==TJ==