Along with the first couple of tunes, the cover for this record raises the hackles of non-stupid people by threatening a violent Spoon-feeding of nimrod nu-mod exhibiting heavy research into Small Faces, Raspberries and Beatles, the song structures leaning toward things like “Got to Get You Into My Life” and Madonna’s “True Blue” for six minutes or so, but the skies eventually clear to reveal plainly that some long, torturous nights of songwriting went into this. The appropriately four-eyed Keith Slettedahl’s range is early Rod Stewart with some high-wire falsetto, branding him as an art-deco Spiderman who could keep things safe enough for politically retarded “Down With Love” types in their plaid “trousers” and skinny ties. But mind-control hookery does abound here. “Hide Another Mistake” is to The Who’s “I Can’t Explain” what menthol is to mint, a brazen throwback to familiar gulps of Pepsodent-smile glucose, whereas the engaging “All Cause of You” glimpses an indie-wasteland Vegas of the future where the chorus girls expose shockingly rebellious tattoos. The post-coke-generation gears keep cranking in “Nobody Cares,” its syncopation courtesy of the same hand claps Ray Davies used when he wore short pants, but things take a turn for the edgy in the slide-guitar-driven “Bowls,” wherein Slettedahl ratches his Buzzcocks whine up a notch into real-deal Paul McCartney territory to knock out some worthwhile White Album filler. Things improve by leaps and bounds moving forward, with an unexpected Broadway burn-out soliloquy (“Jesus is Good”), a Maroon 5 take on 60s girl-group shimmy (“Battle Scar”) and a left-field bolt of Three Dog Night schlock (“Everybody Loves Me”). Unfairly overlooked upon its debut four or five months ago, there’s a depth here that could lead to true greatness. Order at Amazon.com
