Milwaukee has, of late, ponied up a fine rivulet of cookie-throated femme-fronted poppity types ((the Sugar Stems, the Flips, i guess Ramma Lamma to a certain extent)), and i don’t know if i’m just remembering things incorrectly or there was some manner of sea change in the band’s aesthetic manifesto, but i seem to recall the Datelines being a bit more Junior Varsity/Kung Fu Monkeys kitschy when i saw ‘em live a while back. This stuff sounds a bit meaner than i recall—like, i half expect them to bust into that Jimmy Reed number about partner-swapping that the Del-Monas ((or somebody)) covered, when i might’ve been initially expecting lyrical content involving a milkshake—but, then again, maybe i didn’t take good notes the first time and my observations are roundly invalid. Either way, things are more “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” than “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)” at present, but, with parentheses like that, i should worry? One thing i don’t understand is how all these female songwriters wind up with all these guys whom, apparently, treat ‘em so poorly—since every guy i know thinks that, all else being equal, girls in bands are cooler than girls who aren’t in bands, one would assume there would be no shortage of better-behaved potential suitors for these wronged lasses. I can only conclude they don’t know where to shop, male-wise. Alas. BEST SONG: “Gossip” BEST SONG TITLE: “No No No” if you’re a Generation X b-side FANTASTIC AMAZING TRIVIA FACT: Forty percent of these songs begin with the phrase “you’ve got me”
–norb (International Dateline)