Hoax Inc.

When it All Boils Down To Nothing contains five glossy songs that recall the straight-ahead rock of the Goo Goo Dolls’ earlier releases. Occasionally, faint traces of a Social Distortion sneer creep into the vocal delivery, adding much-needed attitude to the overly refined production. "Hour of Darkness” differs from the rest of the EP, with its slow moving acoustic pop, and "Breakdown” and "Hang Time” stray oddly close to metal, with shrill guitars, stadium-shaking bass lines and substantial back-up vocals. Fortunately the hairspray is put back on the shelf as the song "Damaged” comes closer to Mike Ness territory. As a whole, When it All Boils Down offers well played but uneven pop rock.