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Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger had much to do with Theory of a Deadman's debut. He signed them and coproduced and cowrote 6 of the 10 tracks on the band's debut, so you'd expect the album to possess similar pop-metal sensibilities as his band's recordings. As it happens, TOAD (there's an unfortunate acronym) venture even closer to the pop mainstream. Frontman Tyler Connolly sings like Eddie Vedder and Scott Weiland, but there is no punk ethos, political conviction, or rage here. Connolly's troubles are all with girls, and his band--uninterested in pulverizing or surprising the audience--follows the famous Roxette dictum: "Don't bore us, get to the chorus." Indeed, they follow it so well that the album clocks in at 36 minutes. But, as a modern pop-rock band, they've come up with a well-produced set and Connolly delivers a string of melodies that will appeal to the mainstream millions. "Make Up Your Mind," "Nothing Could Come Between Us," and "Say I'm Sorry" are explosive, while "The Last Song," with its sweeping strings, is epic pop rock. --Dominic Wills