Puddle of Mudd's story is every struggling musician's dream come true: armed with a fake backstage pass, frontman Wes Scantlin snuck the band's demo to a Limp Bizkit security guy at a show in their native Kansas City, and less than one year later finds his group's debut album the first release on Fred Durst's new label. Thankfully, Come Clean sounds nothing like Limp Bizkit; Puddle of Mudd's aggro-rock sound is similar to every other Alice in Chains- and Tool-influenced band to come along in the past few years. The opening, "Control," milks the loud/quiet formula that Nirvana brought back to life, but adds some interesting stop-time changes during the break, while the acoustic balladry of "Drift & Die" will sound familiar, sounding like something Layne Staley could have written.

Bret Love, Rovi