America follows up their much-hyped major-label 2007 comeback
Here & Now by shifting to an independent imprint and covering favorite songs. The move to an indie cleans up the production -- there’s not the old-school warmth that
James Iha brought to it -- and lessens the scope, so apart from the touch-too-pristine surfaces, this sounds intimate and friendly. There are no great surprises in the song selection, it’s heavily weighted toward classic songwriters like
Bob Dylan,
Paul Simon,
Joni Mitchell, and
Brian Wilson, and has a selection from
Schlesinger’s
Fountains of Wayne, so the only surprises are tunes from
the Gin Blossoms and
the New Radicals, whose melodicism fits quite well here, and there are mild, subtle surprises within the arrangements, with
Dewey Bunnell and
Gerry Beckley turning these familiar tunes into something that sounds distinctly like
America. It’s comfortable and engaging without being complacent; it’s a visit with old friends that still can do something unexpected after all these years. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine