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Hey guys? Probably don’t have another 20 more years for the next album. Mmkay?
Semisonic finally came out of the shadows releasing Little Bit of Sun today more than 20 years after their last full-length record. OK, ok, they did drop the You’re Not Alone EP a couple years back but the long dormant band who hit the road with Barenaked Ladies on the Last Summer on Earth tour this year returns with fresh material and maybe this time the Minnesota natives of singer guitarist Dan Wilson, John Munson on bass and drummer Jacob Slichter will stick around for the long haul.
Reaching stratosphere fame 25 years ago thanks to their hit “Closing Time,” Semisonic failed to capture lightning in a bottle twice despite several killer songs off Feeling Strangely Fine and a couple, at best, on 2001’s All About Chemistry. But the persnickety nature of radio listeners generally doesn’t cross over into full album listens. They want more of the same, I guess, and when other songs didn’t deliver the dopamine hit, everyone gathered up their jackets and moved into the exits.
As such, Semisonic likely won’t dominate the airwaves with anything off the 12-song 40 minute Little Bit of Sun but no need for last album call as this one jingles from start to finish. Mostly. What Áll About Chemistry lacked, this one highlights the best and then some off the smash Feeling Strangely Fine, even surpassing in overall feel and volume of songs. A touch of folk, some indie rock and an embrace of 90s alternative encapsulate the album that fluctuates from slower reflections to quicker paced power pop.
Most certainly, straightforward rhythms proving most pleasurable to the ear while often encircled by more involved arrangements and dynamics proliferate the album. “Out of the Dirt” especially prominent on this front with some free play like phrasing and a whimsical guitar solo laid down by Jason Isbell. “The Rope” and title track overdose you on deliciously memorable melodies the latter of which could totally be a Tom Petty song. “So Amazed” confirms the radiance of 90s rock and “Grow Your Own” just might take you back to the start when Wilson and Munson were figuring out the music landscape in their first band Trip Shakespeare.
Affecting ballads “All the Time” and the wonderfully composed album closer “Beautiful Sky” (featuring Jim James of My Morning Jacket) touch a ruminative heart while the folksy “Don’t Fade Away” whisks you away to 60s era Simon & Garfunkel. A little bit of Gin Blossoms and a little bit of Death Cab for Cutie in the bass driven and quicker paced “Keep Me in Motion.” “It Wasn’t Like We Hoped It Would Be” borders on the amusing as Wilson counters his bubblegum vocals with a harder-edged guitar. And, finally, though not necessarily throwaways, “If You Say So” which features Munson on vocals and “Only Empathy” lack the charisma Semisonic blended throughout the rest of the album.
If such a thing exists as a second debut album, Semisonic has discovered it in Little Bit of Sun. No, no need for another “Closing Time” either as most of the tracks on this record uphold what most of us have been asking for years: Where have you been?
Grade: B+
Semisonic Little Bit of Sun Songs:
- Little Bit of Sun
- The Rope
- Grown Your Own
- Don’t Fade Away
- All the Time
- Keep Me in Motion
- If You Say So
- Out of the Dirt
- It Wasn’t Like We Hoped It Would Be
- So Amazed
- Only Empathy
- Beautiful Sky
*Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
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