Kokopop
1993
Power Trips Down Lovers' Lane
About This Album
The second album by Los Angeles' cerebral yet melodic Nothing Painted Blue -- easily the best band ever named after a line Ann-Margaret says in Kitten With a Whip -- fulfills and extends the promise of their encouraging debut, 1990's A Baby, a Blanket, a Packet of Seeds. The glossier production, courtesy of Shimmy-Disc/Kokopop head Kramer, fits bandleader Franklin Bruno's hyper-intelligent lyrical sense and taste for winding melodies perfectly; in many ways, Nothing Painted Blue sound much like an American version of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, or perhaps the Go-Betweens, whose "Rock and Roll Friend" gets a sympathetic reading here. The revised lineup, now featuring Giant Sand bassist Joey Burns, is more together than on the somewhat tentative debut, and the songs continue Bruno's idiosyncratic obsessions and facility for sharp observation. The swooningly romantic "Officer Angel," about a crush on a traffic cop, is the equal of the Beatles' "Lovely Rita" in the "I love a woman in uniform" sweepstakes, and the self-explanatory "Epistemophilia" showcases Bruno's self-deprecating wit. Power Trips Down Lovers Lane is a treasure for over-educated smart alecks with romantic streaks everywhere. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4,5 and 9)

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