What's In The Bag

Review

Two decades after a melodically rich, lyrically eloquent self-titled debut album won him oceans of adoring critical ink, Marshall Crenshaw still remembers the finer points of songwriting, especially his trademark concision. But 20 years down the road, he sees and hears things differently. Crenshaw sounds a little worn these days, a little less spry than his early power-pop days, and fatalism colors his work, beginning with the slow-burning opener "Will We Ever?," with its dolorous pedal steel. It's a lyrical tale of a road-weary Willy Loman type who pines for his wife while cursing out the vapid choices on his radio; it's hard to tell which weighs on the man more heavily — being apart from the one he loves or having to listen to lousy music. Crenshaw continues down this path, refining the cynical joy of his early work through the lens of a seasoned, even world-weary, singer-songwriter. The cover of Prince's "Take Me With U" lightens the tone ever so slightly, but cuts such as "The Spell Is Broken" and "Long and Complicated," with their intricate guitar parts and emotional upheavals, return Crenshaw to his autumnal conclusions.