The sixth album from Boston punkers turned alt-rock darlings
the Lemonheads
arrived at a pivotal moment for both the band and slacker culture on the whole. Just one year earlier,
It's a Shame About Ray
had put them on the map with its mix of laconic lyrical perspectives and jittery pop tunes, made all the sweeter by bandleader
Evan Dando
's sweetly distant vocal performances. By 1993,
Nirvana
had long taken over the world, and the mainstream's assimilation of alternative sounds and ideas was at its zenith.
Come On Feel the Lemonheads
was the band's shot at capitalizing on this phenomenon, and they came out with a strong -- if confused -- swing for the fences.
Dando
's songwriting was always uniquely catchy, and here he curtails his more bizarre writing quirks and focuses on direct, no-nonsense pop composition that almost seems designed for a broader audience. It's there in the way the album begins with "The Great Big No" charging out of the gates as soon as listeners press play. Less than a minute into the song,
has already hit us with multiple hooks, a chorus, and a one-note guitar solo. So many of the tracks on
Come On
carry a similar immediacy. "Dawn Can't Decide," "Down About It," "Rest Assured," and others get right to the point and feel almost anxious to zip through their brief, punky durations. "Into Your Arms" (a cover of a song by
the Love Positions
,
Lemonheads
bassist
Nic Dalton
's sweetly twee side project with vocalist
Robyn St. Clare
) would become the band's biggest hit, its simple melody, soft sentiments, and jangly undercurrents hitting the sweet spot between early-'90s faux-grunge trendiness and unadulterated pop. This was the group's third record for major label
Atlantic
, and their first after the success of
, and the earmarks of an ambitious album are present in its considered production and guest cameos from established stars like
Rick James
(on the semi-random filler track "Rick James Style") and
Belinda Carlisle
(singing harmonies on the B-side-quality tune "I'll Do It Anyway"). A bigger budget also allows
's love of
Gram Parsons
-style country-rock a deeper expression, with
Flying Burrito Brother
Sneaky Pete Kleinow
himself adding dazzling pedal steel to the gentle twang of "Big Gay Heart" and the goofy gallop of "Being Around." Ironically, the band's success is what ultimately leads to
's shortcomings. Struggles with fame, drugs, and strained relationships are the inspirations for most of these songs, but they also contribute to a palpable sense of exhaustion that comes through at times. The exciting brevity of earlier albums is replaced here with an overstuffed track list that could have left a few of the less-inspired songs off the final cut.
's focus is spread thin, and while the album is still fun, lively, and not without some exceptional songs, it lacks the cohesion and skimps on the personality that made other
records feel like their own weird, tiny worlds. ~ Fred Thomas