THE LEMONHEADS "The Lemonheads"

Evan Dando, hmmm. Who knows what to make of the guy? I can't say I was ever an enormous Lemonheads fan, I mean, I liked them, I consumed music, and when they hit the jackpot with "It's A Shame About Ray", I giggled and went along for the ride. But they could easily have been a band from that era that I've put on the shelf and forgotten about (see: Fudge, Milltown Bros, Urge Overkill). It wasn't Evan's notorious run-ins with various troubles or girlfriends (Courtney Love) that kept me interested. No, about 5 years ago I stuck "Rudderless" on a mixtape. With that, and iTunes, I've stayed "in touch" with that record, and it holds up.

So, every once and a while, I'll pop "Ray" into my queue, and it sounds nice. Was I surprised to find out that Evan was recording again and with the Descendents? Yes and no. I actually DID get myself amped up. Then I forgot about it. But this week, with the final result hitting the shelves next week or the week after, I finally got to listen to the self-titled 2006 version of the Lemonheads.

They succeed on most fronts. It is more rockin', "Clean Sheets" guitars, but still subdued and produced enough as to make it friendly for radio or the OC. Bad thing is, the songs aren't nearly as hooky as the aforementioned 1992 gem. It sounds more Dinosaur Jr than anything (I guess J Mascis played guitar, too). I've picked my favorite so far to share with you, and the more I listen, the better it gets, but nothing as memorable as "Rudderless". Maybe it's the Juliana backing vocals I miss. That wouldn't have been to hard to pull off, would it have? Either way, if you missed Lemonheads all these years, it will probably hit your sweet spot. At the very worst, it'll make you go find "Alison's Starting To Happen" and blast it full on.

UPDATE: Was politely asked to remove "Pittsburgh" in lieu of "No Backbone". Congrats to the lucky readers who got here first.

NO BACKBONE