Uncle Wiggly's debut album is like a masterful mélange of
Jonathan Richman in his "Ice Cream Man" days (the lyrics and melodies tend toward a similar wide-eyed innocence, as well as a certain dairy-treat fixation); early
Galaxie 500 (producer
Kramer gives the trio's guitars and vocals -- all three swap out those duties -- a brittle, echo-like sound that
Dean Wareham fans will recognize immediately); and the
Tall Dwarfs (the same sort of quirky song structures and
lo-fi sound). The album's mixture of catchy little
pop songs ("Stick Up Your Smile") and chugging instrumentals that share
the Velvet Underground and krautrock fixations of the Flying Nun bands ("Hope So, Hope Soon") and abstract psychedelia ("My My My, How Are You?," which, arguably, takes the
Galaxie 500 fixation over the line into outright plagiarism) is unfailingly catchy and listenable, but
Kramer's tin-can production fails the songs by making them sound more alike than they really are. Careful listening, however, reveals nuances that are largely hidden on a casual spin, so the songs are worth the effort. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
