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BoDeans
Resolution
(Zoë/Rounder)
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2004, Volume 11, #7
Written by John Metzger

It undoubtedly is a bit astonishing that, over the course of its career, the BoDeans'
has made only minor modifications to its trademark sound. Even coming in the wake of an eight-year
absence from the recording studio, the group offers little on its latest
endeavor Resolution that is new. Instead, the BoDeans dabbles in the same
inoffensive, jingle-jangle arrangements that long have been its
bread-and-butter. Then again, few ensembles, this late in their careers, are
willing to risk alienating a preexisting base of fans by offering them something that is even
slightly unfamiliar.
Whenever the BoDeans does stray from its feel-good pop formula, the
sidetracks prove to be needless distractions as well as major disappointments.
The ballads are exceedingly dull; the attempts at psychedelia are strangely
ineffective; and the grittier, blues-oriented guitar solos seem oddly out of
place. Much like its Scottish brethren del Amitri, it’s only when the BoDeans
delivers its pleasantly innocuous folk-rock tunes with beautifully intertwined
harmonies that it achieves any degree of success. Unfortunately, the end result
is still better employed as background music for a summer barbecue rather than
an evening of serious artistic examination and discovery.  ½
Resolution is available
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box
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