Search - Juliana Hatfield :: Beautiful Creature

A Review For Fence-Sitters

Mister Charlie | Los Angeles, CA | 12/13/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I usually don't get much out of rave reviews from committed fans. Not that there's anything wrong with committed fans, all artists should be so lucky as to have them. But when I'm sitting on the fence trying to decide whether to check out a new artist, or, like in this case, rediscover one I used to know, I try to avoid such reviews/fans.



But most of JH's albums are available used for super-cheap, so I went ahead and picked up 4 of her '90s albums.



Even back when I enjoyed the Blake Babies and JH's 1st couple of albums and her intersection with the Lemonheads, I always found her a bit hit-and-miss. Some songs i like A LOT, and some make me roll my eyes because of too-obvious chord changes, arrangements and production, bland delivery or just plain embarrassing lyrics.



I discovered all of the above experiences were waiting for me again on these new albums, and this, BEAUTIFUL CREATURE, was no exception. There's even one song (i think it's "Hotels") you can sing that big Chris Isaak hit 'Wicked Game' over! Tsk! Then there's "Cool Rock Boy", with a song on the companion album that refers to a "Little White Boy" and other equally adventurous wordplay. Nothing against her but that kind of lyrical laziness leaves me cold. I suspect she's a much more interesting person than many of her lyrics let on.



So, if you're on the fence, and used to like Juliana Hatfield but haven't heard her in awhile, I would probably steer you away from this one and towards In Exile Deo or perhaps Made in China. In Exile Deo has a couple of the best JH songs I've probably ever heard ("Get in Line" [a Revolver-esque romp] and "Because We Love You" [one of the best songs Teenage Fanclub didn't write]) and is worth it just for those songs.



If, however, you really like the sweeter poppier side of Ms. Hatfield, this would be a great choice. For me there are too many of those kinds of songs I might hear under a treacly teen romance movie on the USA channel.



One other comment: "Close Your Eyes" is a great acoustic lullabye and makes no sense as track 2. Put it at the end, or as a mid-album breather or something!



My two cents. I'm glad she's still making music and fighting the good fight."

Varied and nearly flawless.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 07/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"2000 was a busy year for Juliana Hatfield, she recorded two albums worth of material, each record quite different. "Total System Failure" was a loud and aggressive album of pretty much straight forward alt-punk. "Beuatiful Creature" was a record of introspection-- loops, acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, territories she'd flirted in but never fully embraced.



Remarkably, the experimentation all works pretty well-- there's an extraordinarily high level of quality on all this material (and conversely, I found the more conventional "Total System Failure" to be largely, well a failure). Probably most important to the success of this record is the self-assurance that is obvious in Hatfield's vocal. No more do her girly vocals sound thin and nervous, but rather sit comfortably on top of the shifting backgrounds put in place.



And the album does shift, from funky electric rock ("Daniel") to acoustic melancholy ("Choose Drugs", "Hotels"), loop-based churns ("Cool Rock Boy", "Don't Rush Me") and some of the most delicate and beautiful work Hatfield has ever done (pretty acoustic love song "Might Be in Love" and the absolutely stunning "Close Your Eyes", something so delicate and pretty it needs to be heard to be appreciated).



It's not a very accessible album, because it does find so many directions, but "Beautiful Creature" is so unnervingly good, it deserves attention. And its certainly the best thing Hatfield has released in a long time. Highly recommended."