The Mommyheads is a pop rock band from the Bay Area. When I say pop, I mean it in its highest regard. I was only really familiar with them because they put out a record on Geffen in 1997, whose flop played a role in their subsequent breakup. Now back together going on a decade now, they’ve released their fourth comeback record. While I have to admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of this disc, there were several songs that took me by surprise and ended up becoming tracks that played on repeat.

The opener “Don’t Believe The Pilot” is a catchy enough song and a little quirky in its musical presentation. The songwriting is interesting and the musical approach is good ,but afterwards every song felt the same to me. A lot of the songs here sound like Semisonic to me – not that that’s a bad thing, but it mostly sounds very early ‘90s to me and I’m not that impressed. “Crooked Picture” is the song that clinches the Semisonic title.

“Home On The Moon” with its sprightly little riff is a nice step in the opposite direction. It’s got more of an upbeat feel to it and is one of the more interesting tracks here, one I actually like very much. “Eye On The Canary” is another upbeat cut that is a great, Jellyfish-type pop song, which actually isn’t something I’ve heard in quite a while. The album’s coup de grace, “Three,” is a lovely piano ballad about being in the world with the one you love.

Some tracks like “Thank You For The Songs” feel like Nilsson cast offs from a latter album of his. Ultimately, you have half of a decent record, but the songs that are winners are the real thing. The record could’ve been a bit shorter and that may have helped it become a lot better.

Rating: C+

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