On the midway that spring
Wordplay. Melodies. Punches in the face. Aimee Mann's into boxing these days, which she mentions in interviews, and you can see from the album cover that she's devoted a concept album to it. Given Mann's spare frame, it's hard to picture her floating like a butterfly or stinging like a bee, but the sport's jabbing and self-defense fit her song's themes of soured relationships and addiction to pain.
When I saw her last summer in Boston, she talked about how much she loved boxing, and how she wanted to spar with fellow enthusiast Bob Dylan. (I think I had a dream like that once.) At that show she said her new album would be produced by songwriter Joe Henry, and she said there wasn't a title yet.
The new record comes out May 3rd, and it's called The Forgotten Arm. Here's a track:
Whenever I hear a new Aimee Mann song, I don't tend to think much of it. That's because her songs slowly percolate, until you realize seven days later that you've been humming them for a week. And while "Dear John" doesn't blow me away, I've heard that The Forgotten Arm works best as a whole: it's a concept album, a story about a boxer named John and his lover Caroline, who meet at a fair. "Dear John" is the record's first track, an introduction to the two characters who meet when "cotton candy was king".
Another notable fact about The Forgotten Arm is that Mann and Henry recorded most of the record live, which, after the days of working with genius producer Jon Brion, is something new. I'm hoping it adds some spontenaiety, which, in my opinion, is what was lacking in 2002's kinda dull Lost In Space. Based on what I've heard, though, her new songs are winners.
(Please appreciate that I used all of my energy to avoid making a lame boxing pun like "knockout" about these songs. I am to be applauded. Even better, I somehow didn't use "right hook" in reference to her ability to write catchy songs. You owe me, big.)
You can hear all the tracks at her website, where you can also pre-order the CD.