Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers
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Free Music Notes for @#%&*! Smilers
Free Music Review: A Vaudevillean Good Time
Hit: 4 Stars
I was willing to write off Aimee Mann's career by the time she got to (insert appropriate punctuation here) Smilers, and on first listen, I thought it was totally appropriate to do so. Smilers has a few of Mann's least interesting songs - like "Phoenix," which wincingly rhymes its title with "kleenex," or "Stranger Into Starman," which I hope is the last song anyone is inspired to write about the New York Times Crossword puzzle. But it also turned out to be (not that there's much competition) Mann's first truly fun record. The album is filled with horns, keyboards, and buzzy melodies, and songs one after another wound up lodged in my brain. Mann still has her verbose, cutting wit and cynicism, and songs like "Freeway" (its topical chorus of "You got a lot of money/ but you can't afford the freeway") and "Borrowing Time" are just as cranky as she's ever been, but they sound like they might as well be coming from a Broadway revue - I never would have thought a line "Get up, you're borrowing time" could be so bouncy. Whether she's singing about a lack of direction in "31 Today," about cynicism that prevents anything from ever happening in "It's Over," or about romantic disillusion in "True Believer," she can't hide the fact that she seems to be having a tossed-off blast. Smilers is far from essential Mann, yet it shows her wounding consciousness can be a source of joy as well as well-crafted disappointment. And, it makes purer, emotional songs like "Columbus Avenue" feel like a touching ballad breaking up the action rather than business as usual.Free Music Review: 4 1/2 Something's Missing?
Hit: 4 Stars
I own most of Aimee Mann's albums. With The Forgotten Arm, Lost in Space, Whateve and Bachelor #2 in mind (not thinking about the Christmas album), in mind...I really didn't feel like this was her best album. Keep in mind that I'm more of a tune and production type person, so while I eventually may get around to paying a lot of attention to lyrics or some may catch my attention and drive me to understand the song better, I'm not rating based on lyrics...though when I do listen further to lyrics, I've always found Aimee Mann to be admireably good with them.The real thing that traps me from giving the album a full five (though 4 1/2 is still great) is that this album doesn't seem to change up as much. I really felt like the songs had the same musical mood or sounded a lot like a song I'd heard from her in the past...with only maybe a couple of exceptions (Balantines is one of those I thought stood out because of Sean Hayes being featured_...
So, while I was relieved to hear this album after The Forgotten Arm (few awesome tracks, mostly "sleepers") and the Christmas album (which I honestly haven't listened to that much)...I wasn't nearly as happy with this as Whatever and Bachelor #2. Lost in Space would have to be my favorite Aimee Mann album at this point, but ithis isn't bad.
Free Music Review: Consistently good...one of the best of 2008
Hit: 4 Stars
I own most of Aimee Mann's albums, including her previous one before this, The Forgotten Arm. Some reviews felt that as a concept album, it was a bit of a departure for Mann but I find that she consistently makes good music, especially with sweet lyrics and vocals.
I was fortunate enough to catch one of her concerts as part of the tour for this album and she did a great job on the songs. The show helped reinforce just how well these songs fit into the Aimee Mann canon. The album opens with the single, "Freeway", which is the one song on the album that seems atypical for Mann. It's a catchy, adult-oriented pop song that finds Mann letting loose with some unusual lyrics for her, "you got a lot of money but you can't afford the freeway."
The album leads into "Stranger into Starman", which is just short enough to always leave you wanting more of this beautiful song. Other highlights for me are "Thirty One Today" and "Little Tornado", but the album is consistently good Aimee Mann from front to back.
Free Music Review: Aimee is back!
Hit: 4 Stars
To anyone who has drifted away from Aimee Mann in the past few years, this is the time to give her another chance. If you loved any of her first three albums, but felt bored by LOST IN SPACE or indifferent to THE FORGOTTEN ARM, her new album @#%&*! SMILERS will restore your faith. No, she's still not writing rockers, but she's given her arrangements a much-needed shake-up. Electric guitars have been banished, replaced by old-school synths and some rooty-toot-toot horns. After two albums where the songs all seemed to blend into one another, several songs are stand-outs: "Borrowing Time," "31 Today," "The Great Beyond," "Little Tornado" and "Ballantines" are highlights. She still avoids rocking out, and a couple of songs (like "True Believer") just beg for a faster, harder treatment. But the performances and production is impeccable as always, and if you still listen to I'M WITH STUPID or BACHELOR #2 with fond memories, it's time to welcome Aimee home.Free Music Review: Exceeds expectations
Hit: 4 Stars
This is normally not my type of music. I listen to rock, classic rock, some alternative, (real) hip-hop and some jazz. Aimee Mann always seemed too close to pop for me. I enjoyed some of her songs on the radio, but never enough to motivate me to purchase an album. However, I purchased Smilers after seeing her on Austin City Limits. I was hooked by the performance and am now hooked by this album!!! Catchy, mid tempo songs, interesting and bittersweet lyrics, a voice that i can enjoy for extended listening sessions. My toddler dances to it too! it is album that I often listen to from beginning to end, but if your looking for suggested tracks I recommend Freeway, Stranger into Starman, Looking for Nothing, and Phoenix. I am happy I ventured off the familar path to find this album.