Jesse Malin - 'Glitter in the Gutter'

One glorious day, bands like Nickelback and Hinder will be purged from the good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll radio. Perhaps NYC native Jesse Malin will step up in their stead to assume the mantle of “modern rock dude.” But although his latest album, Glitter in the Gutter, is chock full of standard modern radio rock stuff, Malin provides quality jams in the tradition of classic rock vets like Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen (who also duets with Malin on “Broken Radio”).

Like the Boss’s own The River, Malin’s Glitter in the Gutter tries to devote time and space to both quiet, introspective ballads and bombastic anthems about this-and-that. “Don’t Let Them Take You Down” kicks the album off, with Malin providing his best Young impersonation. The song carries a message of positivity over a middle-of-the-road acoustic strum. After Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War (both of which get mentioned here), this sentiment for 2007 is certainly welcome, if not a bit trite compared to Springsteen's post-9/11 activism.

“In the Modern World” kicks things up a gear or two, and showcases more accurately Malin’s gift for hooks. Single-worthy and totally peppy, “In the Modern World” glides by effortlessly in under three minutes, and gosh darn does it demand repeat listens. While “Don’t Let Them Take You Down” tries to rally people lyrically, “In the Modern World” gets it done with sheer pop rock pacing and infectious singing.

Later tracks like “Prisoners of Paradise” (which borrows a little too much from The Knack’s “My Sharona” for, like, three seconds) and “Little Star” recreate this energy with expert precision.

The slower tunes come in two forms: ambient or classic rock. “Lucinda” is a pretty ’70s-style love song about a woman with the aforementioned name. “Tomorrow, Tonight” comes off distant and dreamy. Piano ballads “Bastards of Young” (a Replacements cover) and “Broken Radio” get by on sappy sentiment and Bruce-style gruff emoting. They’re pretty, but they’re also a tad bit melodramatic.

But just like most other radio rock albums, Glitter in the Gutter has a few faults. Malin’s Neil Young whine can get annoying at certain points in the album’s 44-minute running time. It doesn’t matter much on rockin’ tracks like “In the Modern World,” for they are far too catchy to be held down, but on lesser tracks, Malin’s voice can expose a few cracks in the structure. Mid-tempo ditty “Black Haired Girl” rocks like Ryan Adams (another guest on the album), but Malin’s singing lacks the force and enchantment of a classic rocker like, say, Roger Daltrey, which in turn makes the song’s repetitive AABB rhyme scheme all the more aggravating.

Glitter in the Gutter is a decent collection of rock songs. Boasting guest work from Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, Chris Shiflett, Josh Home and Jakob Dylan, it’s clear that Malin has friends in high alt-rock places. But he hasn’t yet matched his friends’ level of songwriting. Malin rocks better than Springsteen circa Human Touch, but he’s miles away from Born to Run.