一聽音樂網

During and after his days as the leader of Massachusetts band the Scud Mountain Boys, which fizzled after their dazzling 1996 Sub Pop release, Joe Pernice has crafted his songs with a juxtaposed blueprint--hummable melodies and a lush pop tenor camouflaging lyrics that reek of anxiety and aggravation. "Struggling through the S's/Through the tunnels in the trees/Through the sticky optimism hardening in me," he mordantly confesses in "PCH One," among the best of the dozen songs that make up the Pernices' sixth full-length record. Backed by brother Bob and ace guitarist Peyton Pinkerton, Pernice's unblemished voice is the key instrument, whether lamenting a spurious hometown ("Somerville") or summating a breakup ("Conscience Clean") with one telltale line: "So I threw a dart at Europe/She hit Michigan." But the band saves the most poignant track for last, a remake of the Scuds' "Grudge F***," in which Pernice pleads for one last encounter with an ex-lover. It's the kind of song that once sold a million for AM radio bands like Bread, and wraps up in 4:57 what the Pernice Brothers are all about. --Scott Holter