Has it really been six years since Juliana Hatfield released her one and only hit album, "Hey Babe"? You'd never know it by listening to "Bed," her fourth album and first since she left Mammoth/Atlantic two years ago. Hatfield has managed to maintain the same out-of-date sound that never quite made it back when grunge was something to be proud of. Long-time fans will be happy to know that her trademark cutesy Go-Go's-style voice and poppy/preppy guitar remains intact. "Bed" starts off promising – both "I Want to Want You" and "Swan Song" sport tougher guitars than usual and Hatfield actually sounds like she means it when she sings "My face has changed/I don't look the same/A human mutation alienation factory." But it's not enough to keep things interesting. "Sneaking Around" sounds too much like a bad Stevie Nicks outtake. Ballads such as "Backseat" and the dreadful "Running Out" (which contains a Heathers-era lyric about double suicide) do little more than make you yawn and wonder why she keeps trying. It seems that Hatfield's golden years are past; the only thing left to do is rehash old memories. Anyone remember Evan Dando?

-- Tim McMahan

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Copyright © 1998 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Rating: No