Diotalevi stated that no one from STP's camp would return their calls or letters, until his band mailed a cease-and-desist letter to STP's record company. Power Lloyd co-founder Gene Diotalevi explained that after their band had given a song to MTV to be used on the soundtrack of Celebrity Deathmatch, someone at MTV with an advance copy of No.4 noticed that the covers were nearly identical, and alerted the band. The Power Lloyd CD Election Day had been released in 1998, and the cover was a white five-point star on a black field under the band's name STP's No.4 also featured a white five-point star on a black field under the band's name. The cover art for No.4 generated some brief controversy because it strongly resembled the cover of the debut EP from Washington, D.C.-based band Power Lloyd. Critics noted similarities between 'Atlanta' and ' My Favorite Things' from the 1959 musical The Sound of Music. Tye Comer called the album 'powerful and cohesive', recommending readers to listen the tracks 'Heaven & Hot Rods', 'Church on Tuesday', 'Sour Girl', and 'No Way Out'. Rolling Stone critic Lorraine Ali rated it three out of five, calling the songs 'strong pop-rock pieces but without the self-consciousness of previous efforts'. Brunner further deemed the tracks 'Sex & Violence' and 'Pruno' as 'hardly original' and having resemblances to David Bowie but also as 'well-crafted'.

Brunner deemed the track 'Down' as 'dour', 'No Way Out' as 'dated', and 'Atlanta' as 'pretentious'. Entertainment Weekly critic Rob Brunner graded it 'C', calling the album 'generic and phoned in' and mostly 'unexciting and obvious'. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic cited the album as STP's 'hardest effort' since Core, remarking that 'it's as if STP decided to compete directly with the new generation of alt-metal bands who prize aggression over hooks or riffs.' Erlewine also commented that No.4 'consolidates all strengths.' Reception Professional ratings Review scoresĪllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four out of five stars, praising the opening tracks ' Down' and ' Heaven & Hot Rods'. 4 displays the band returning to the more hard rock-oriented sound of their first two albums.

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