Puddle of Mudd Evokes Raw Attitude of ‘90s Seattle Sound

With a few notable exceptions, the rap-metal trend seems to be on the wane. In its place, a more melodic but equally anguished form of sonic expression is beginning to emerge, and when all is said and done it should prove more enduring.

Puddle of Mudd is likely to figure prominently in this movement, which is led by bands such as Stone Temple Pilots, Staind and Nickelback. The irony here is that Mudd (as well as Staind) were discovered by Limp Bizkit’s hip-hop ‘n’ hard-core poster boy, Fred Durst. The first release on Durst’s Interscope-affiliated Flawless label, the quartet’s debut album “Come Clean” is a brew of urgent rhythms and grungy hooks that couldn’t be further away from Bizkit’s whine ‘n’ groove shtick.

Mudd’s sold-out show at the Roxy on Saturday offered an extremely tight yet passionate rendering of songs from the record, most of which rummage through bad relationships and underdog misery. With tortured lyrics and riffs that build from subtle to aggressive faster than you can say “Teen Spirit,” the band evokes the ‘90s Seattle sound, and that rawness and attitude were even more pronounced in Mudd’s live show than on the record.

Wesley Scantlin’s sandpaper croon sounds so much like Kurt Cobain’s on infectious laments such as “Nobody Told Me” and “Blurry” and the vengefully wry ditty “She Hates Me” that it’s almost eerie. But while Scantlin’s songs of frustration are similarly dark, his laid-back persona contradicts their pain. On stage, the members of Mudd are as happy as pigs in slop, and their good vibes make the songs’ angry undercurrents seem like distant, if potent, memories.

The band ended its set on a meaningfully joyful note, tearing into its catchy tough-love anthem “Control” with a zeal that had the crowd’s hands in the air. The fans roared loudest when Durst took the stage near the end of the tune, suggesting that even if rap rock wilts and bands such as P.O.M. eclipse his success, this enterprising guy is here to stay.