Come on Feel The Lemonheads

Chronique

The sixth album from Boston punkers turned alt-rock darlings the Lemonheads arrived at a pivotal moment for both the band and slacker culture on the whole. Just one year earlier, It's a Shame About Ray had put them on the map with its mix of laconic lyrical perspectives and jittery pop tunes, made all the sweeter by bandleader Evan Dando's sweetly distant vocal performances. By 1993, Nirvana had long taken over the world, and the mainstream's assimilation of alternative sounds and ideas was at its zenith. Come On Feel the Lemonheads was the band's shot at capitalizing on this phenomenon, and they came out with a strong -- if confused -- swing for the fences. Dando's songwriting was always uniquely catchy, and here he curtails his more bizarre writing quirks and focuses on direct, no-nonsense pop composition that almost seems designed for a broader audience. It's there in the way the album begins with "The Great Big No" charging out of the gates as soon as listeners press play. Less than a minute into the song, Dando has already hit us with multiple hooks, a chorus, and a one-note guitar solo. So many of the tracks on Come On carry a similar immediacy. "Dawn Can't Decide," "Down About It," "Rest Assured," and others get right to the point and feel almost anxious to zip through their brief, punky durations. "Into Your Arms" (a cover of a song by the Love Positions, Lemonheads bassist Nic Dalton's sweetly twee side project with vocalist Robyn St. Clare) would become the band's biggest hit, its simple melody, soft sentiments, and jangly undercurrents hitting the sweet spot between early-'90s faux-grunge trendiness and unadulterated pop. This was the group's third record for major label Atlantic, and their first after the success of It's a Shame About Ray, and the earmarks of an ambitious album are present in its considered production and guest cameos from established stars like Rick James (on the semi-random filler track "Rick James Style") and Belinda Carlisle (singing harmonies on the B-side-quality tune "I'll Do It Anyway"). A bigger budget also allows Dando's love of Gram Parsons-style country-rock a deeper expression, with Flying Burrito Brother Sneaky Pete Kleinow himself adding dazzling pedal steel to the gentle twang of "Big Gay Heart" and the goofy gallop of "Being Around." Ironically, the band's success is what ultimately leads to Come On's shortcomings. Struggles with fame, drugs, and strained relationships are the inspirations for most of these songs, but they also contribute to a palpable sense of exhaustion that comes through at times. The exciting brevity of earlier albums is replaced here with an overstuffed track list that could have left a few of the less-inspired songs off the final cut. Dando's focus is spread thin, and while the album is still fun, lively, and not without some exceptional songs, it lacks the cohesion and skimps on the personality that made other Lemonheads records feel like their own weird, tiny worlds.
© Fred Thomas /TiVo