Aimee Mann

@#%&! Smilers (Superego)

By Lisa Heffernan
Published: May 30th, 2008 | 1:28am

‘Til Tuesday fans will be happy to know that Aimee Mann has returned to her original post-new wave roots on @#%&! Smilers. Leadoff track “Freeway,” a catchy synth-pop tune, will have Gen Xers recalling The Cars’ eponymous debut. “Thirty One Today,” while lyrically inferior (“Called some guy I know / Had a drink or two”) also features a Moog sound, ending with martian-like sound effects. And “Great Beyond” is keyboard heavy with a western flair, an eclectic combo reminiscent of “I Deserve It” from Madonna’s Music.

Yet, "post-new wave" only describes part of Smilers. While electric guitars are MIA, Mann’s latest endeavor includes strings, horns, and acoustic guitar. The folksy, stripped-down “Columbus Ave.” stands in sharp contrast to the string and synth-laden “Phoenix.” And while Mann is known for her songwriting skills, when she rhymes Kleenex with Phoenix and sings “I’ve had my fill / You love me like a dollar bill,” you have to wonder if she’s lost her luster. But then a song like “True Believer” (co-written by Grant Lee Phillips) comes out of your speakers and classic Mann is back: “It’s not easy / In this phosphorescent gloom / I want you / But you’re a Poltergeist.”

Aside from “Freeway,” “Great Beyond,” and “True Believer,” two other standout tracks include the eerie “Little Tornado,” and the raucous “Ballantines.” The mysterious lyrics, whistling, and hushed vocals on "Little Tornado" lend it sexual undertones, while “Ballantines” — a duet with San Franciscan Sean Hayes — ends the disc on a light note with carnival sounding horns and a barroom piano. When Mann said her CD was “an interesting amalgamation of sounds,” she was right. It’s just too bad all of the sounds aren’t interesting enough to play repeatedly.

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