

Evan Dando and The Lemonheads grow their songwriting on their latest offering.
Dark and Bittersweet, The Lemonheads have crafted a scenery of potency and mature demeanor. Initially released in 1996, Car Button Cloth was The Lemonheads’ seventh studio album and transitioned from the band’s initial Alternative Rock demeanor into a gritty and ambitious musical journey from beginning to end. The band’s leader, Evan Dando, wrote many of the album’s tracks that often integrate the troubled corners of his psyche. Songs such as “Break Me,” “If I Could Talk I’d Tell You,” and “Something’s Missing” explore the deepening emotions Dando experienced at the time of recording. The opening track, “It’s All True,” portrays the protagonist with a seeming detachment and disconnection as the opening lines: “I haven’t cried like a baby since I learned to talk,” exude Dando’s perspective within a heavyset production of bass guitars and energetic beats. The aggressive vocal delivery conveys Dando’s sense of knowing himself in a dark mind.
The lead single, “If I Could Talk I’d Tell You,” is a ruckus journey echoing the life of an outcast. The intertwining of themes such as emotional pain and frustration makes for a thrilling ride for listeners to experience over and over. Furthermore, the underlying sadness within the track implies the protagonist is going through a change he doesn’t quite know yet. The following track, “Break Me,” highlights the emotional side of longing within the protagonist’s life over strumming guitars and lingering drums. At the same time, “Hospital” primarily focuses on Dando’s descent into madness as its lyrics set the tone for listeners over an unpleasantly tinkling piano intro that slowly guides us into Dando’s introspection while in rehab. This perspective is explored through inner voices arguing inside his mind. Dando’s dry and robust delivery plays with the implied voices within his head. His vocals are restrained and somber against a repeating bass production. “Something’s Missing” is a change of pace on Car Button Cloth, toying with aspects of Punk Pop and harrowing lyrics. “Something’s from my life/There’s nowhere I wanted to stay” illustrates the protagonist’s yearning for something better. At the same time, “Knoxville Girl” is an obscure cover featuring Dando’s restrained vocals cutting through a barrage of squealing guitars. The production has a lingering flow and is steady in keeping up with the original, but it is an album filler at best.
“6ix” pushes listeners expectations to the limit- featuring screeching Dando vocals against an assortment of distorted guitars and heavyset production, lyrics such as “Gwyneth’s head in a box/Soupy sales, my friend” references the movie ending Se7en and actress Gwyneth Paltrow, but may be interpreted as a meltdown during a live performance in Melbourne, Australia that enveloped Dando in the early 2000’s. While “C’mon Daddy” is a slow burner to the album’s eclectic musical landscape and adds depth to the album, lyrically exploring a child’s perspective of a daughter looking for her father. Calm, persuasive lines such as: “I feel like Steven is my daddy and it ain’t no lie/But I wanna hold you till the end of time” allude to a tender ballad of a daughter searching for her father.
“One More Time” follows in the vein of its complimenting track, “Tenderfoot”- both are catchy and energetic, providing listeners a sense of moving their feet in time against a Punk Pop beat production that will please any fist-bumping listener. The repetitive and simplistic lyrics on “One More Time” are captivating and set the tone for a rock event for all. The album’s closer, “Secular Rockulidge,” is an instrumental track ending the album on a cliffhanger for its audience- ultimately leaving them wanting more of this musical landscape forged by The Lemonheads. Featuring a slow build of guitars in the intro, “Secular Rockulidge” then pulls listeners in with a plethora of eclectic guitars and bass, a fitting ending to a musical journey led by The Lemonheads that capsules listeners within a world that has many twists and turns. A world that combines themes such as euphoria, dark, and bittersweet. Car Button Cloth is a misunderstood and underrated album that captures Evan Dando’s maturing work as an artist and inspiration to many fans of The Lemonheads and beyond.