Sum 41's recent success with the brash 'Fat Lip' raised hopes that their debut album would be a gloriously icky, hormonal concoction of snot and pus. Such hopes are dashed, however, after listening to the first few tracks of the album.
All too quickly it becomes clear as crystal that Sum 41 are the Beastie Boys without the attitude and Green Day without the wit. There is nothing fresh, exciting or particularly interesting about a punk outfit who, as young pups, brushed their teeth and used expensive spot cream.
Clearly, this should have been anticipated in this faintly bizarre post 'nu-metal' age in which the be-masked Slipknot, who defecate and sniff dead birds on stage, are vaguely mainstream. It's both unfair and hopelessly unrealistic to expect a fledgling punk act to do anything radical or new in a musical genre which has been done to death.
Better then, to concentrate on what this new breed of musical brats have managed to do, which is to produce a solid debut of consistently punchy,~if uninspiring tracks. There is a certain refreshing simplicity and youthful enthusiasm about this album which compensates for its overwhelming lack of originality.
Highlights include 'Motivation' and 'Heart Attack', both of which are particularly derivative of Green Day's golden 'Dookie' period in both theme and tone. Rants about adolescent disillusion and lethargy just confirm this band's lack of its own identity.
This leads us to an inevitably mixed review. Taken in isolation 'All Filler…' is a good album from an undeniably talented band. However, taken in context, you just can't help thinking it might be better to stick with 'Dookie'.
