Either Way

Album Review

This obscure jangle-pop duo has made a fine album that is, unfortunately, almost impossible to find, but well worth the effort. Out of thirteen songs, nine are gems. The disc opens with the sublime "What Does It Take?," and an ode to unrequited love that grabs you gently by the scruff of the neck and runs off with your heart. "Either Way" is an ode to actual requited love with a chord progression that Lennon and McCartney would have been proud to write. "2 Women" is a twisted country song about being in love with a schizophrenic, disguised as a song about a menage à trois. The Twins (whose real names are Jeff Murphy and Herb Eimerman) sing with a sweet wistfulness that never gets cloying, even at its sweetest. Everywhere is a cockeyed humor that never rests on mere quirkiness — it's impossible to detect any irony in the sappy "I Love Jamaica," and "Ugly" features the classic line "If you weren't so ugly I'd ask you out," followed two minutes later by the tag "...is what she said to me." Not everything works perfectly ("Dream for Love" never picks up any momentum, for instance), but overall this disc is a resounding success.