An early toe-dip into the mainstream and certainly a calmer effort than their debut — those cascading, percussive synths on "Within Your Reach" scream romantic '80s movie jam. But Hootenanny is still rippling with fits of distortion and dissonance. "Color Me Impressed" is their tightest song yet, but no less smug. "Everybody at your party, they all look depressed / everybody dressing funny, color me impressed," Westerberg groans at the outset. It isn't until the song's final 30 seconds that, for the first time, a singing voice emerges. Westerberg pushes past melody and into harmony, setting himself up for a far less ragged future. There's also an Easter egg that would predict the sound to come on "Mr. Whirly," a bizarre double cover that begins with Bob Stinson playing the opening chords of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" then transitions into a messy remake of McCartney's "Oh, Darling." The band's Fab Four obsession would soon come to light, bearing their best work ever. Elsewhere, Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages gets an extended shout out on "Lovelines" as Westerberg, over a slick, jazzy bassline from the then-16-year-old Tommy Stinson, reads verbatim from the personal ads, imbuing some charm and a wink in… read more »