Blake Babies - Nicely, Nicely

The Blake Babies' first album is only of minimal interest to anyone who isn't a die-hard fan of the Boston-based indie rockers. The nine tunes tend to run to the short, fast, and loud credo, which doesn't do them any favors, and the performances go beyond the engagingly rough-edged sound of their later releases into something approaching incompetence at times. The lyrics have traces of the wit and insight that would characterize albums like 1990's Sunburn, but lines like "Leave me alone/You're a bonehead" are much more common. (The excellently titled "Let Them Eat Chewy Granola Bars" is nothing but a bunch of random non-sequiturs repeated twice in semi-thrash style.) On the other hand, there are two outstanding songs in the peculiarly titled "A Sweet Burger LP" and the wistful lost-love tune "Bye," and many of the other songs are catchy enough on their own small merits. In comparison to what this band would accomplish even as early as 1988's Earwig, though, Nicely, Nicely is strictly amateur hour. Nicely, Nicely was originally released in a limited vinyl run of 1,000 copies on the band's own Chewbud label. It was reissued by Mammoth Records in 1994 and Hollywood Records in 2001; neither version includes bonus tracks. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

Name Credits Freda Boner Drums John P. Strohm Guitar, Vocals Juliana Hatfield Guitar, Vocals Seth White Bass