As usual that pep is paired with tunes that seep into your brain with the stealth of Mann's own beguiling murmur and lyrics that range from poetic to narrative.
Her decision to forgo electric guitars on @#%&*! Smilers results in the aural equivalent of watercolour washes, lovely and tasteful but lacking presence. [July 2008, p.102]
I have been a huge fan since the til tuesday days. I love the electric sounds of her earlier solo CD's and also the mellow tunes of her I have been a huge fan since the til tuesday days. I love the electric sounds of her earlier solo CD's and also the mellow tunes of her newer releases. I think her sound has moved from pop-sounding to almost folk-sounding...but don't get me wrong..I still love it. In this age of cookie-cutter "musicians", I have a great deal of respect for an artist who sings, writes, and performs their own music on their own terms. As long as she writes music, I will keep listening because she has a captivating voice and writes amazing lyrics.…Expand
I agree this is her best since "Bachelor". Fabulous tunes that play in your head even after listening, smart, melancholic lyrics. This is I agree this is her best since "Bachelor". Fabulous tunes that play in your head even after listening, smart, melancholic lyrics. This is pure Aimee, a quiet bursting of emotions. Love it.…Expand
Smoother conceptually, more interesting instrumental arrangements than "Arms." Not quite up to her very best, but certainly more consistent Smoother conceptually, more interesting instrumental arrangements than "Arms." Not quite up to her very best, but certainly more consistent muscially than more recent years.…Expand
The last truly great Aimee Mann song was "Red Vines" from 1999's "Bachelor No. 2(the last remains of the dodo)", but you have to go back The last truly great Aimee Mann song was "Red Vines" from 1999's "Bachelor No. 2(the last remains of the dodo)", but you have to go back further in the twentieth century, back to the "Magnolia" soundtrack for her last masterpiece, "Save Me", with its unforgettable, unshakable line, "if you could save me/from the ranks of the freaks/who suspect they could never love anyone." That was one for the ages. But Mann's good, is most female singer-songwriters' great, and that's good enough for me, or anybody, who's into literate-minded songcraft. Like "The Forgotten Arm", you hold "@#%&*! Smilers" like a book, if you want to peruse the words. Although Mann's lyrics are less quotable than they were in her "Everything's Different Now" to "I'm With Stupid" heyday, she remains the unquestioned leader of the pack. "I turned stranger into starman/in the Sunday New York Times/like Anne Sexton and her star rats/working backwards 'til it rhymes," from "Stranger into Starman", probably her most experimental song ever, is a couplet to die for. Meanwhile, "31 Today" and "True Believer" are great additions to her canon. "Freeway" isn't that far behind. It doesn't seem that long ago when Mann fronted "Til Tuesday. When she stood up in that crowded auditorium and lip-synched, "He said, "Shut up!/he said, "Shut up!"(from "Voices Carry"), while thrashing her arms around, it was love at first sight. You had to be a fan to buy her Christmas album. "@#%&*! Smilers" is for @#%&* everybody.…Expand
It's pretty much more of the same Aimee Mann that you either love or hate. And I love her, but I'm still waiting for It's pretty much more of the same Aimee Mann that you either love or hate. And I love her, but I'm still waiting for something....new or groundbreaking from her.…Expand
