With veteran producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Pavement, Baskervilles' 2004 debut LP) at the helm, the band's polished, versatile and straight-to-the-point song-craft has all the makings of a great record, which it is, for the most part.
Picking out a favorite track is not easy when the album has such a consistent run of substantially memorable material. It’s like picking out your favorite chocolate candy in a box full of similarly tasty sweets. There are too many fine choices to settle for just one. So all you can do is pick the preferred song of the moment, which so happens to be “Staying There For A While.” The back-and-forth string-hopping guitar melody that acts as the song’s main riff has indeed stayed in my head for a long while now.
Other stand-outs include album opener “A Little More Time,” with its mixture of strings, hand claps, acoustic guitar and piano flourishes, along with the summery Brit pop and horns-filled ditty "Caught In A Crosswalk”, led by vocalist/keyboardist Stephanie Finucane.
Elsewhere, the keys and brass-powered pop of the timely "Where Did My Summer Go?" is another highlight, as is “Smash,” which has a little bit of R.E.M. in its melodic flavor and vocals. With Easter guiding Baskervilles’ sound, this comes as no surprise. Also, the fine tracks “Have You Seen Them?” and “Sweet And Sour,” sung by vocalist/guitarist Rob Keith, have a noticeable Velvet Underground spirit to them.
One of the only tunes that musically matches what one might normally expect to be the mood of the album based on its title, “Slip A Little And Boom!” starts out with a spooky bass line and continues along with its dark, new wave vibe and delayed guitar effects — in the vein of early The Cure records or a young Dave "The Edge" Evans. However, it is also one of the CD's few unmemorable moments.
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