Evan Dando - Baby I'm bored (Setanta)

As we haven't seen Evan Dando releasing anything in eight years now, we can surely conclude that this album is going to have a mass of thought and creativity poured into it. Well…no, not really. This album is, in a word, disappointing. The release from the ex-front man of The Lemonheads is nothing like the material that made him one of the best-respected artists of the grunge era, winning the admiration of grunge rockers such as the notorious Courtney Love amongst others. While old Lemonheads songs such as 'Drug buddy' and 'Into your arms' have that indescribable flow to them, almost all the tracks off 'Baby I'm bored' do not.

Having said this, 'Waking up' with its bouncy piano melody and backing vocals, 'The same thing' containing an insightful look at Evan's life up until now and 'Stop my head' bringing us a cheery philosophical moment, come closest to reminding us of his former glory days. Apart from these commendable songs, the rest of the tracks are sloppy and ill thought up. Take 'In the grass all wine coloured' as a perfect example… it just moans on dully for three and a half minutes. This surely wasn't the best choice to end the album with?

Evan's career has definitely not prospered since grunge died, and this album won't help him regain any of his musical status. "Baby I'm Bored" isn't worth having unless you're a complete fanatic of the Lemonheads and don't mind forking out a few quid for three good songs.

Adam Millar