There’s a new Smash Mouth in town. Well, the West coast alt-rockers have got a new singer anyway. And now, the wider world can hear him with the release of “4th of July,” the band’s first non-cover recording with newbie Zach Goode and the first original tune they’ve put out since 2018.
With Goode installed as the new face and voice of the band, Smash Mouth has delivered a summer anthem just in time for Independence Day weekend. Founding member and bassist Paul DeLisle lays it on the line, saying, “4th of July was always my favorite holiday when I was a kid. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all cold-weather affairs. The 4th of July is the only major holiday landing smack dab in the middle of summer. It needs a theme song, right?”
Sounds like a quintessential Californian statement, and Smash Mouth seems set on spreading the summer-fun gospel around the country this season, hitting the road with concerts everywhere from Ohio to Oregon on their Summer of Smash Mouth tour.
For those who haven’t already been following the band’s summertime output, they already got into the spirit on June 10, when they audaciously rickrolled the whole world by releasing their rocked-up version of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” That track was actually the first one that gave the masses a chance to hear what Smash Mouth sounds like with Goode taking over the lead vocal chores. But between “4th of July” and all the summer tour dates the band is lining up (there are more of them in the works, btw), there are sure to be plenty more opportunities to check out the new, lemony-fresh version of the band that’s been rocking around since the ‘90s.