The Lemonheads - Car Button Cloth (1996)

After 3 long years, Evan Dando returns. For his 7th album, Dando presents an all-new line-up and his most powerful crop of songs to date, featuring collaborations with Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Eugene Kelly (Eugenius), Epic Soundtracks (Swell Maps) longtime cohort Tom Morgan, plus many solo creations. Radio formats serviced will include alternative, AOR, pop and college stations.

Despite his rise from indie punk-popster to high-profile alt-pop heartthrob, Lemonheads leader Evan Dando is still capable of making charmingly goofy, memorably melodic records, and this is one of them. Though it's a bit light on obvious hookfests, Car Button Cloth maintains a low-key, whispery bittersweetness that's both likable and poignant. And there's a touchingly loopy honesty in the self-effacing resoluteness of such tunes as "The Outdoor Type," "If I Could Talk I'd Tell You," and "C'mon Daddy." This charming, deceptively modest effort is a helpful reminder that, as much as Dando tries to hide it, there's a substantial if unfocused talent lurking beneath his flaky exterior. --Scott Schinder