Cloud Nine

What differentiates ' from the rest of their huge discography isn't the subject matter -- it's still weed, rebellion, weed, and weed -- but the general feeling that about a quarter of the songs here are more influenced by the Cali alt-rock of and than , even though the evil clowns do show up for the "blaze your own trails" anthem There are still those punk numbers that sound like if they never grew up and some good, hard-hitting hip-hop, like when guest shines all over but is a surprisingly bright and dreamy number that perfectly suits a bunch of punkish stoners growing old. The reggae light of would play fine at any all-inclusive resort, and the laid-back sounds like it was found stuck between the seats of a 1972 hippie van. If there's any reason to worry about this mellowing, it's that sometimes the production sounds too button-up for the punk and rock-rap numbers, although gets it just right thanks to some gutsy fuzz guitar. A few fans might fall off, a few fans might jump on because of the group's ever-growing love of chillin' and sunshine, but this otherwise straight-up-the-middle album won't surprise or sway most. ~ David Jeffries