Aimee Mann Forgotten Arm CD

Alternately acidic and lovelorn lyrics are delivered in a devastatingly affectless deadpan that drives home the power behind the sentiments without shoving them down the listener's throat. At the same time, the sonic template established on Mann's previous solo albums is expanded slightly (the soulful "King of the Jailhouse" could be a contender for a Solomon Burke cover version), even as it shies away from overtly hook-driven arrangements. Ultimately, THE FORGOTTEN ARM marks a maturation for a performer already well beyond her artistic adolescence.

Another chapter in former Til Tuesday vocalist Aimee Mann's ongoing saga, which could be called "How to Successfully Operate Outside the Mainstream Music Industry," THE FORGOTTEN ARM is full of the bittersweet songcraft that has become synonymous with Mann's name. Her blending of the introspective singer/songwriter aesthetic with a kind of postmodern power-pop approach to production has already yielded a number of impressive albums, but this feels like a further distillation and refinement of her style.

Personnel: Aimee Mann (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Jeff Trott (electric guitar, baritone guitar, mandolin); Julian Coryell (slide guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Jebin Bruni (keyboards); Paul Bryan (bass instrument, background vocals); Victor Indrizzo (drums, cowbells, percussion); Jay Bellerose (drums, percussion); West End Horns.

Rolling Stone (p.72) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[The songs] combine singer-songwriter clarity, L.A. harmonies and melancholy piano into a convincing package."
Entertainment Weekly (No. 817/818, p.147) - "[Mann] has gone conceptual with this "novella" about two hard-luck lovers crisscrossing 1970s America..." - Grade: B
Uncut (p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Songs unfold as complex relationships, with attendant euphoria, doubt and internal demons."