The Juliana Theory: Love
(Epic Records)

There’s little to say about this album except that it sounds like most of the stuff that Joel and Benji end up playing on All Things Rock. There’s no variation from song to song. The tempos remain the same, the structure remains the same, the vocals remain the same. Jerry Harrison’s clean, tight production has made the sound perfectly shiny -- no feedback, no crackling, no hissing, and in a way, no life. It’s hard to feel any emotion from songs played and sung so perfectly. Nothing here sticks out. After repeated listens, you’d still be hard-pressed to tell the difference between “Bring It Low,” “Jewel to Sparkle,” “In Conversation” or any of the remaining 11 tracks. In fact, being able to pick The Juliana Theory out of a crowd might be near impossible.

4 blips out of 10
 
By Bob Canning