So far, for me, it's a pretty solid modern rock album. I'm not going to comment on production etc until I have the CD but the drums aren't bothering me really except for a couple of places.
There's not nearly enough swazz in the guitars for me, that's a disappointment. I think Votta has writing chops though, probably more on the mellow side than as a riff guy.
I'd have to rank it down at the bottom of the STP-related collection along with HIG and Contraband. This record has less filler than those 2 (and nothing as execrable as "Fall To Pieces") but it lacks anything stellar such as "Crash" or "Superhuman". I would say it's not near S/T standard (Blaster is the one that kicks that record into touch) and nowhere near Libertad which continues to grow on me.
Still, "Small Batch Whiskey", "Get On Down", "Death Of It" and "Long Ago" are all very, very good imo while the rest are, mostly, decent. Would I buy it if Scott wasn't on there? No, but I can see myself grabbing it off the shelf every now and then and pretty much digging it as a whole. Just my opinion.