Creatures on The Loose
3 Out of 5 Stars
Bob Schneider seems to be one of those unfortunately talented musicians that can't quite find the right light to stand under. He's an adult contemporary singer songwriter who avoids sappiness, but writes smart and clever love songs. He's also witty and often funny in a very derivative way, like how this "Lovely Creatures" album opens with airy put-down song, "Trash." It's peppy, it's got a good hook that kills, and it's a major put-down of love. Yet the song itself sounds like it should be romantic, despite the venomous core.
So what to make of Bob? "Lovely Creatures" is filled with such contradictions. There are songs about being burned by love that are melancholy, like "Slower Dear," yet twice here a pair of Mexican Mambo "Tarantula," about a black-widow woman that flips the rest of the album for a loop. Just for kicks, he does it again on "Bombananza." Or you can get the excellent "40 Dogs/Romeo and Juliet," which would be a huge hit in a perfect world.
If no-one else, the eclectic nature of Schneider's music reminds me of other pop singers who take the soft rock genre and bend it to their will. Artists like Duncan Sheik, Stephen Bishop and now Schneider. "Lovely Creatures" is a delightfully subversive pop record, and while I enjoy it, it's probably doomed to cult obscurity.
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