Quite how Goo Goo Dolls always manage to reflect their times is astonishing. I’ve followed the band through all their phases, yet somehow they still sound perfectly 2025. Lead track “Ocean” could be mistaken for something X Ambassadors would kill for, yet it’s unmistakably Rzeznik and Takac. At this stage of their career, they just have the knack for crafting the perfect chorus.
“Nothing Lasts Forever” proves exactly that point, while “Almost Broken” shows how effortless they make the three-minute pop song appear. Love will conquer all seems to be the message threaded throughout—and maybe that’s the maxim the world needs in 2025. Either way, these hooks don’t happen by accident.
Seven tracks makes “Summer Anthem” a mini-album in my book, but it carries the weight of something bigger. Its shining gem sits right in the middle: “Misery,” a track as ambitious as it is polished. There’s nothing raw about Goo Goo Dolls anymore—but my goodness, they still have it.
Takac takes the mic on “Such A Mystery,” which chugs along with Bryan Adams-esque energy, offering another masterclass in radio-friendly songwriting. And while it’s true that their viral moment on TikTok opened them to a new generation, that came down to their lifelong ability to write ballads. “Run All Night” starts out like one, but expands into something more cinematic and explosive—radio rock at its very best.
Closing track “Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes),” already revealed ahead of release, sparkles as a slice of American rock played by one of the best to ever do it. That’s the thing about Goo Goo Dolls—they aren’t just about these seven songs, but about a career built on writing their own kind of “Summer Anthem.”
Rating: 8.5/10
