thoughts

Imperial Bedroom: It's a much less unnerving version of Pinkerton set in a jazz bar. Poor lil Declan mopes and mulls over whether to talk to a girl, scolds himself for not being the right type and regrets past loves that went sour. And he's not at all sarcastic about it; he's quite, reserved and,well, sad. It's quite a far cry from the sarcastic Costello many were used to on his earlier stuff. While it lacks the agonized wail of a Gordan Gano, say, Imperial Bedroom is the best damned Jazzy emo precursor out there. Get of yer ass and get it.

Crazy Rhythms: The rhythms aren't crazy, but they're good. Pitchfork called this geek rock and I'd agree in some respect; Loveless love, Moscow Nights and Original love deal with the yearn of no longer being a virgin,but most of the time, this record sounds like a really good garage band tuning up and practicing, giving it all a nice suburban "we're rocking out to beat ennui" vibe.