Search - The Loud Family :: Attractive Nuisance

Better Half of Album is Fantastic

Scott McFarland | Manassas, VA United States | 04/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I wrote a harsher review below. Hate to admit that I'm wrong. But I think I was. I saw TLF live last night and I've reevaluated some of the material on the record.I still think about half of it doesn't work, that the album's not as full of brilliance as "Days For Days" or "Interbabe Concern" had been. But the better half of it is a progression forward and a great set of material. "Soul DC" is a great moody hopeful track that ranks with their best. I now agree with what someone says below - this is a good album by a great band."

Solid album. like it.

J.J. Langr | United States | 03/08/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After someone loaned me Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things, I was compelled to immediately buy it, so I picked Attractive Nuisance at the same time. What strikes me is how bands like this are continually overlooked. Attractive Nuisance may not be a classic but it's a top-notch CD and so far it's my favorite of 2000. One thing I like more about it than Plants & Birds & Rocks & Things is the nice vocal interplay between Alison Faith Levy and Scott Miller, featured on "Years of Wrong Impressions." (She also gets a lead on "The Apprentice.") The noise work by Zappa guitarist Mike Keneally on "Nice When I Want Something" is quite cool. I also love the cover photo and story behind it."

An OBSCURE-DISK Commentary.

M. D. Weiskopf | Los Angeles, CA USA | 05/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Since this looks to be the final installment of Scott Miller's three-decade love/hate affair with dazzling, micro-composed power-pop, it's hard not to discuss Attractive Nuisance without an undue amount of sentimentality. But since this is Amazon and not the Loud Family fan club, I'll try to stick to my impressions.It strikes me that the Loud Family's sound has gradually moved away from the shiny sonic maximalism of their 1993 debut, Plants & Birds. More recent albums, while still dense and heady, sound constitutionally more raw and scrappy than other efforts. This sonic curve reminds me of Frank Black's metamorphosis from synthpop dabbler to two-track purist, but with Frank, it always seemed like the quality of his compositions decreased in direct proportion to the amount of time spent arranging and producing them. I feared the same fate for the Loud Family after the raw, boxy Days For Days, which never connected with me after two years of repeat visits, and it took me a good six months to buy Attractive Nuisance out of sheer fear of disappointment. But Scott Miller is not your everyday artist, having made a habit of following lackluster albums (Two Steps from the Middle Ages, The Tape of Only Linda) with absolutely blockbuster chunks of 200% genius (Plants and Birds, Interbabe Concern). And so it was.Put simply, although it may lack the convoluted production gymnastics of his earlier classics, Attractive Nuisance is filled with at least ten strong, well-crafted, intelligent, and subtly rendered songs. (I would override "Backward Century" only because it gets on my nerves slightly, and "Controlled Burn" is an experiment that, personally, never coheres.) Although long the anti-champion of his own vocal prowess, Scott sings here with textural variety and dynamics, especially the quiet desperation of "Soul DC" and the smarmy crooning of "No One's Watching My Limo Ride." Somewhat in spite of myself, I think Alison Faith-Levy's piano-driven solo turn, "The Apprentice," may be my favorite out-and-out pop song on the album, her brassy voice sounding something like Alanis Morissette crossed with Carrie Bradley from Ed's Redeeming Qualities (a compliment!).It could take another 1,000 words to describe how much I love the production, the arrangements, the ensemble playing, and the smaller details that make each song so individually rewarding, but I'll just say this: Attractive Nuisance is touching, it's catchy as smallpox, it's funny, it's a great rock record. It's absolutely necessary."