The Lemondheads disbanded after releasing Car Button Cloth in 1996, and Evan Dando released Baby I'm Bored in 2003. In the 6-7 years that he spent out of the public eye, Dando got married and achieved sobriety, perhaps some of the events that influenced the more mature sound that's presented on Baby I'm Bored. Dando skips uptempo rhythms and/or loud, crunchy guitar parts in favor of low-key acoustic guitar-driven tunes, and his lyrics are much more personal in comparison to work he put out with The Lemonheads. Pretty much gone is the grunge aesthetic he reveled in during the '90s alongside pals like Kurt Cobain, and he ushers in a calmer, country-rock-influenced sound that surprisingly works really well with his melodic vocals. Check out "Hard Drive," "Repeat," "All My Life," "It Looks Like You," and "Why Do You Do This To Yourself." This is the RSD 2017 "Book back" reissue and includes a disc of unreleased tracks, singles, b-sides and rarities.

• bookback reissue for RSD 2017
• 2000 copies only
• 24-page liner notes + photographs
• high-quality downloads included
• includes disc of unreleased tracks, singles, b-sides, & rarities
• music label: Fire Records 2003 / 2017

reviewed by marble cake floors 05/2017