Stephen Fievet's early-'80s cassettes under the name LMNOP were bright and catchy new wave-influenced pop with clever, often very funny lyrics and a distinctly odd sensibility. Over the ensuing decade, however, Fievet's world view darkened considerably. 1995's 30-song release Camera Sized Life is as clever as before, but it's a more unsettling listen. The songs are less produced, with fewer instruments and more empty spaces in the music (as always, Fievet plays and sings everything himself), and although Fievet's sweetly melodic song sense and adorable singing voice are much the same, his lyrics have become dark and corrosive. The imagery is unfailingly bleak, and the catchy tunes, like the downright boppy "Hurdle," make the proceedings that much freakier. Camera Sized Life's defining moment comes at the very end of the poignantly melodic "Stranger's Son," when Fievet sweetly chirps, "You're a scum-faced f*ck/I hope your car gets crushed." Ever wonder what would have happened if Ian Curtis had led the Archies instead of Joy Division? Camera Sized Life explains all.
© Stewart Mason /TiVo