“Buy it now, buy it now, buy it now/This is my single/This is my jingle” – the ex-Replacements songsmith usually possesses a deft lyrical touch, but the oddly ironic opening line to Folker does little to inspire confidence.
As the brains behind the youthfully exuberant and punkish Replacements, comes as something of a disappointment to find that Westerberg’s solo work has never quite matched the cultural influence of his former outfit.
Having said that, he certainly made people sit up and take notice with his 1990 opus All Shook Down, not to mention his cheerily infectious contributions to the Singles OST, which seemed to perfectly complement the movie’s disenfranchised, devil-may-care grunge-era characters.
Unfortunately, Westerberg’s music has changed little in the intervening years, and with a number of young contenders snapping at his heels, he appears to have lost what little edge he may have previously boasted.
‘Lookin’ Up In Heaven’ is a jaunty paean to acoustica, yet the whole effect is surprisingly underwhelming. ‘As Far As I Know’ is a Beatles-esque, uplifting track, but the feel-good effect is all but nullified by the weary ‘$100 Grooms’, which seems to drag its heels on the floor.
In all, Westerberg’s fifth full-length album is curiously anodyne, an uninspired throwback to a time when those hopelessly bland, three-chord wonders were all the rage. Granted, it’s not bad for an intimate and relaxed album recorded in a basement in Minnesota, but it’s disappointing nonetheless.