AIMEE MANN
@#%&*! Smilers
Super Ego
Songwriter Aimee Mann has run the gamut: from movie soundtrack composer (Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia), multi-instrumentalist, contractual standoff (CBS), record label creator (Super Ego) and the smash 1985 MTV video hit for “Voices Carry” by her group ‘Til Tuesday.
More than 20 years later one thing is for certain: Mann is securing her foothold as one of the best.
On her 2005 release The Forgotten Arm, Mann leaned on a more gritty and straightforward instrumentation, reflecting her strengths as a live performer and the energy of the album’s concept.
Her sixth and latest solo album, @#%&*! Smilers, is created with a completely different palate which includes Wurlitzers, Clavinets, analog synthesizers, and selective horn and string sections. The result a master chef serving up her delicious creation: full of flavor but sparse in texture; exotic in presentation yet delightfully simple.
Smilers continues her mastery of whittling human nature into a four minute pop tune. Mann has developed a keen musical and lyrical rhythm from each album release to the next, building on themes and not simply repeating them. Lyrically, she combines a seemingly innate ability to conjure up a vivid image, and to portray it in a way that is universal, not exclusive.
In stores June 3, 2008
