Mark Eitzel - Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby (CD)

All Music Guide

Neither as polished and loose as West nor as studiously serene as 60 Watt Silver Lining, Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby is the liveliest record Mark Eitzel has recorded since the demise of American Music Club. Eitzel's songs always flourish when stripped down and delivered directly, and the stark production of Caught emphasizes his wry lyricism and wrenching emotions. Much of the music on the album was written before West, his collaboration with Peter Buck, and the songs do sound like a bridge between that record and 60 Watt. In many ways, it's his finest solo record yet, because the largely acoustic setting is quite affecting, and the handful of electric tracks -- recorded with Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew -- have a nervy power reminiscent of the best AMC tracks.

- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide