release date: Oct. 25, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Evil" - 2. "Bubble" - 3. "I Am a Rock" - 5. "New Jersey" - 7. "Blindfold"
3th studio album by Red House Painters released on 4AD follows only 5 months following Red House Painters [I] / Red House Painters [Rollercoaster] (May '93). Like that, it only carries the title of the band name, thus being referred to as either Red House Painters [II], or Red House Painters [Bridge], with reference to the front cover.
Apparently, the album contains leftovers or compositions from the same studio recordings as the predecessor, which explains the short time-span in between these two albums. It contains two covers: "I Am a Rock" written by Paul Simon and originally performed by Simon & Garfunkel, and the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" written by American poet Francis Scott Key, and in rock history made iconic by Jimi Hendrix.
This is may not be Red House Painters' best but it' still a pretty interesting release. I notice the bond to the predecessor but on this you will not find similar compositions of uptempo groove of shoegaze and dreampop. Instead, these compositions are more laidback, perhaps more introspective and also somewhat simpler. I do like how Kozelek has arranged the cover songs, and this is a fine example he follows on later releases - some of which are entirely made up of covers - but it's refreshing how he doesn't only deliver the song as it was released or say made popular, but he really makes new adaptations.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]
