Not your older sister's Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray has never been a band that took itself seriously. When it arrived on the scene in 1997, its summery, nonchalant music was a semi-fresh sound compared to many of the rock bands out there. But now it’s let its gimmick of not caring about the critics go to its head, giving up all legitimacy.

“Music for Cougars” is the first studio release from Sugar Ray since 2003, but it’s been almost nine years since the height of the band’s fame.

Without even getting into the music, the innuendos in the song titles alone will make you laugh. “Girls were made to love” sounds like the creepy anthem of a sex offender.
“She’s Got the (Woo-Hoo)” sounds like a theme song to a coed bar crawl, and “Dance Like No One’s Watchin’” sounds like it was written for people on MySpace who like cliche quotes.

The music is even lamer. This album has teen-movie soundtrack written all over it. “Closer” sounds like a male version of Katy Perry, if not a downright rip-off of “Hot N Cold.”

“She’s Got the (Woo-Hoo)” sounds like a song built for driving down the Vegas Strip in a limo with Champagne. Other than that, most of the songs sound too similar to be of any real mention. No track stands out as being exceptionally good.

For a band that started out as a friendlier version of the nu-metal bands it used to run around with in the 1990s – bands like Incubus, Sevendust and Slipknot, to name a few – this is not the same Sugar Ray.

“Music for Cougars” suffers from a lack of identity. With the title implying that McGrath and Co. are still loyal to the fans who helped them make it big (who are probably not actually old enough to be considered cougars yet), the music sounds a lot like a wish granted to a middle schooler.

If you’re looking for one more summer album to help stave off the end of the break, then this is probably for you. But if you’re still asking how the band you grew up with and loved could sound like it was pressed in a bubble gum factory, you’re better off tossing this CD in the air and letting it fly.