Their 2003 album The Reason and its eponymous hit single made Hoobastank into bona fide stars.

And on their third CD Every Man for Himself, the lightly grungy California pop-rockers make the most of their creative freedom and bigger budget, adding more keyboards, percussion, strings and horns into the mix -- along with enough sound effects (rainstorms, playing children, even a barking drill sergeant) to make you think Bob Ezrin produced this.

Beneath all that window dressing, the band traffics in the same old merchandise -- chart-topping pop-rock anthems fuelled by arena-sized guitar riffs, everyman vocals and dumbo lyrics ("I'm not the next of them / I am the first of me").

Still, on the plus side, this time the boys seem to be in a scrappier mood. A few cuts like Born to Lead, Without a Fight and Good Enough are heavy enough to maintain their rock cred, while If I Were You is supposedly a bitch-slap at former tourmate Scott Weiland.

All that rock still isn't quite enough to overshadow the wussy power ballads, but it is enough to make Every Man for Himself the the first Hoobastank disc that stands on its own two feet.

Track Listing:

1. The Rules
2. Born to Lead
3. Moving Forward
4. Inside of You
5. First of Me
6. Good Enough
7. If I Were You
8. Without A Fight
9. Don't Tell Me
10. Look Where We Are
11. Stay the Same
12. If Only
13. More than A Memory