Romeo in black jeans

Maybe I decided to write about Michael Penn's "No Myth" because March was the first album I ever bought on CD (the first CD single I bought: The Cure's "Lovesong"). Listening to it years later, it's an uneven, frustrating collection; Penn's smart, as you'd expect, but not smart enough to hire a rhythm section when he thinks drum programs will do. He's enamoured with leaden extended metaphors that crumble upon scrutiny ("Cupid's Got a Brand New Gun," "Battle Room"). "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a personal touchstone ("Brave New World"). But "Invisble," the dusky "Innocent One," and "No Myth" are original takes on sexual politics undergirded by a delectable surliness. Surely Aimee Mann is capable of less.

Here's my essay on "No Myth."