RSSHer offering,Gone Again (Arista), is pretty prayerlikeitself: The recent deaths of not just her husband but at leastthree other loved ones have plainly left her grief-stricken.Nevertheless, the dolor of the title track--a solemn celebration ofdeath's relief cowritten by Fred--does lift appreciably with theother song he cowrote, a goofy anthem of ritual abandon called (andin some sense about)Summer Cannibals. And if that's the onlyfull-fledged rocker with Smith's signature on it, the lyricism shebuilds off it should be enough to appease her faithful and, at thevery least, enlarge her cult.
Stereolab and Sammy are two silly little bands too smart andcatchy for their own good. That Stereolab'sEmperor TomatoKetchup (Elektra) features wise-ass English techno kids frontedby a French Marxistyéyé girl singsonging in a distracted sopranowhile Sammy'sTales of Great Neck Glory (DGC) features wise-asssuburban alt-guitar kids whining lovingly about their small-timetraumas is secondary. These two records prove there are stillyoung people who think popcraft is too important to be left toprofessionals. And I'm her to thank them for it.
Playboy, June 1996
 | May 1996 | Aug. 1996 |  |