Mind Science of the Mind - Mind Science of the Mind (CD)

All Music Guide

Though theoretically a Nathan Larson solo effort -- and to be sure, all the songs but one are his own compositions -- Mind Science of the Mind actually makes a fine virtue out of collaboration, whether it be Mary Timony's guitar and keyboard work or Kevin March's reasonable drumming. But Larson's at the center of it and deservedly so; anyone taken by his Shudder to Think efforts will find much to love here, thanks to his quirky, dramatic, and downright strange sense of what rock music can do. Finding a middle ground between hero metal, angular melodies with an eye to minimalism, and falsetto-sung declamatory lyrics about heaven knows what isn't the easiest of tasks per se, but Larson has at it with gusto, with Ted Niceley's production helping everything breathe just fine. More than once the epic grandeur which Larson brought to his enjoyable Bowie pastiche "Hot One" a couple of years later for Velvet Goldmine shines through -- check the sudden chorus on "Skirts to Suffer On" or the tea...rjerker-on-an-arena-scale "To the Tender (Beauty Marks Blisters)," at once a monster stomp and darn good fun. Then there's the far calmer but equally attractive "Does It Rain in Your Womb?," which somehow suggests some sort of coffeehouse cabaret post-Tim Buckley sweetness without coming across as screamingly pretentious -- a miracle in and of itself. Joan Wasser's violin adds some fun joy at many points; check her nervy lines on "Your Human Spine," especially during the jazzed-up second verses, or the lead melody that opens "Oceans Don't Need Us." Both she and Timony add their vocals on "Do You Rule?," arguably the most straightforwardly rocking song of the bunch and brilliantly so, but "Aiwass" closes everything off on one last end-of-the-night meta-ballad note. - Ned Raggett, All Music Guide Read more Less