Heatmiser - Mic City Sons

The third and last album from Heatmiser came out in 1996.  It's a strange mixture of Neil Gust's songs and Elliott Smith's, though the latter had already released two solo albums.  Smith's grungy riffing Get Lucky opens the album with considerable swagger, not something you'd associate with Elliott Smith.  Plainclothes Man is more familiar territory for Smith, featuring his acoustic guitar backed up by the rest of the band, and could easily fit on of his later solo albums.  The lyrics of The Fix Is In will be poured over for 'clues' surrounding Smith's demise but the music here is again, first-class. 

Gust's songs are less memorable, his vocals are a little more muted and are inclined to blend in with the music on the likes of Low-Flying Jets and Cruel Reminders.  An odd-sounding guitar figure introduces Rest My Head Against the Wall, and Gust's guitar work together with his somewhat gruff vocal make this the standout of the Gust material.  Less successful is the frantic-sounding Eagle Eye which is a little too fast and brief.  Later, Blue Highway is a decent rock song in search of a  strong vocal. 

A pair of Elliott Smith songs round of the album really strongly.  The rocky See You Later is pretty anthemic, with a soaring vocal over growling guitars.  Finally, Half Right is arguably the strongest song on the album.  Slow, deliberate guitars pick out an absolutely gorgeous melody which feels both fragile and triumphant all at the same time.  Definitely worth checking out for fans of Elliott Smith.