Dean Wareham has been making beautiful, charming music for decades now, first with Galaxie 500, then Luna, then his team-up with Luna bandmate/wife Britta Phillips as Dean & Britta (QRO spotlight on), recently with Cheval Sombre (QRO album review), and now solo (while still touring the reunited Luna – QRO photos). I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of L.A. is relaxed and wry, perhaps too much so at times, but definitely has that Wareham charm.
The long album title comes from the opening piece, “The Past Is Our Plaything”, a song that goes down very easy. This is an easy album to enjoy, smooth and sweet sounds. There’s the wry take on ‘selling out’, “Cashing In”, and the easy earworm “Red Hollywood”. Not every song hooks as well, some a little too simple and sweet, but that’s a relatively good problem to have.
Admittedly, whatever you remember Dean Wareham from probably isn’t his strictly solo material (perhaps his & Britta’s soundtrack to Andy Warhol’s 13 Most Beautiful… – QRO live review). And in general, he’s not your big rock star but a nice sound that you always enjoy, and will enjoy it once again (even if you are the Mayor of L.A….).
