Voyage to See What's On The Bottom3 Out of 5 Stars
Stephin Merritt tries to pop out with synth songs that stay short, have two vocal dimensions (squeaky voice or grumble drone), and run hot or cold. At least he ditched the constrains of 'concept' that made his other albums struggles to get through. However, "Love At The Bottom of The Sea" suffers from songs that sounds like they were tossed off. The opening one-two punch preps you for the big comeback, then things teeter-totter for the rest of the disc.
For starters, "God Wants Us To Wait" is a funny kick at opponents of gay marriage (although it mat not be a crime in our state...god wants us to wait). This is one of the high squeaky songs and it picks the album up right at the start. Then comes the highlight and first single, "Andrew In Drag," an unrequited love song for the 'girl' he can never have. Or more to the point:
"The moment that he hot the stage
my tail began to wag
like a little wiener dog
for Andrew in Drag."
Problem is, after that, nothing comes out as sublime or as funny. ("Only Boy In Town" is the next great song here.) The rest are lyrically uninteresting and do the back'n'forth between squeaky and droney with little to distinguish one from the other. MF fans will enjoy, but Merritt has done better work.
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