Bob Schneider
LONELYLAND
(UNIVERSAL)

Perennial next big thing Bob Schneider has been famous in his home town of Austin for years. He gained some notoriety fronting the Ugly Americans and the Scabs, whose penchant for songs with titles like " Pussy Fever " earned them a certain degree of infamy. But on Lonelyland Schneider goes it alone and cleans up his act, with a mature sense of melancholy in the songwriting and intricate arrangements. He shies away from the strummy sort of self-involved folk rock that many singer-songwriters favor — the disc features everything from the light R&B of " Bullets " to the loping alterna-country of " MoonSong " to the Tin Pan Alley–inspired pop of " Blue Skies for Everyone. " Schneider’s vocals suggest a more inviting version of singer/songwriter Pete Droge, and he shares Droge’s fondness for rapidfire wordplay. He doesn’t veer too far off the beaten path when it comes to song topics (love, alienation, and busted relationships pretty much covers it), but his adventurous use of operatic backing vocals on " Round and Round " shows that he isn’t afraid to branch out.

Issue Date: April 12 - 19, 2001