Minneapolis Star-Tribune

May 14, 2000, Sunday, Metro Edition

SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. 10F

LENGTH: 854 words

HEADLINE: LISTEN UP

BYLINE: Natalie Nichols; Kevin O'Hare; Sonia Murray; Tom Surowicz; Rick Mason

BODY:
Pop/rock

AIMEE MANN, "Bachelor No. 2" (SuperEgo)

It's ironic that Mann's third solo album is subtitled "Or, the Last Remains of the Dodo." The singer-songwriter's profile hasn't been so high since she fronted the band 'Til Tuesday, thanks to her Oscar nomination for best original song ("Save Me" from "Magnolia"), as well as her much-publicized retrieval of this collection from Interscope Records after last year's PolyGram/Universal merger. She deserves the attention, for this self-released collection of 13 gorgeous and brilliantly understated songs (three of which overlap from the "Magnolia" soundtrack) that examine relationships with the disbelief, doubt and disillusionment of people who seem quite sure of what they don't want, but less certain of what they desire. The collection is available in stores and online at http://www.aimeemann.com. Tempered with Beatle-esque guitars, shimmering piano and prettily disaffected vocals, the cheery pessimism in such songs as "How Am I Different" and "Driving Sideways" seems an almost reluctant conclusion. Indeed, Mann's self-deprecating "(The Fall of the World's Own) Optimist" hints at a once-positive outlook being quashed, and there's an underlying sense to "Bachelor No. 2" that she's emphasizing cynicism in the hopes that someone will prove her wrong. 5311

_ Natalie Nichols, Los Angeles Times

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