Paul Westerberg, the guiding light of the fab long lost Minneapolis rock act the Replacements has not taken his foot off the gas since their demise. Indeed many of the 12 or so projects feature him playing all of the instruments.
The group’s name expresses a beautiful alienation, a patented disinterest perfect sometimes in a society that ain’t made of much. He is joined by a lo-fi queen Juliana Hatfield, an entirely suitable guest for helping create an ambling mood pace with wisps of the old Faces. When I first saw the cover it struck me with its strikingly festive economy. A celebration of the simple purity of all the colorful geometric shapes that structure a guitar’s looks! I searched to find out who made this but had no luck. So we just bask with it.
Mr. Westerberg’s sound has that cool electric touch that I can only think he discovered by a lots of sheer trying. One can imagine his ever lovin’ editing in his sparse workshop. A beat up, worn down, crawling along, maybe blearily artful, touchingly reverbed, quietly hopeful collection. These people know how not to try too hard . There’s a lot in a little.