After 10 years
in which Evan Dando did little else apart from releasing one solo album, the
Lemonheads returned in 2006. Dando was
joined by members of the Descendents as his band, as opposed to original
Lemonheads.
The album has
a punkier feel than other latter day albums.
Opening track Black Gown barrels out of the blocks with a kind of harder
feel, though Dando still turns in a typically goofy lyric “if it ain’t fixed,
don’t break it”. It’s all over in 2
minutes. Similarly fast, rough ‘n’ ready
Pittsburgh and Rule of Three speed along on riffs which sound like they are
about come unstuck yet don’t, married to some great melodies.
Let’s Just
Laugh shakes off an ominous opening to get into a classic Lemonheads groove
with a hint of REM. The latter half of
the album sags a little as Dando and co run out of steam but the opening six
tracks are an adrenalized version of classic Lemonheads.
