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Feb 08, 2019 Web Exclusive By Timothy Michalik

No band sweats luscious, dizzying nostalgia like The Lemonheads. Once cover boy Evan Dando is the sole consistent member of the Boston-formed college-rockers and Varshons 2 picks up where his 2009 album of covers, Varshons, left off—blatantly mediocre covers of cushy, critically-acclaimed acts (Varshons featured songs by Gram Parsons, Wire, GG Allin, Leonard Cohen, and Tim Hardin). Varshons 2, on the other hand, is less admirable.

Across the 40 minutes of Varshons 2, Dando fortunately covers Yo La Tengo, Paul Westerberg, and John Prine, displaying a sweet-toothed affection for his influences and contemporaries while proving why they're still relevant and why he's well, not. Unfortunately, Dando manages to cover a scrummage of inherently unnecessary acts such as Florida Georgia Line ("Round Here") and The Eagles' soft-rock hit "Take it Easy," even twisting The GiveGood's "Unfamiliar" into a plastic-reggae rendition that sags and drowns under its own weight.

Fans of Dando's softer side with The Lemonheads, such as the gentle-crooner "Being Around," are in for a mildly affable 40 minutes. Dando's rendition of Westerberg's "Things" is Dando at his sweetest, a sincere effort paying homage to one of the most slept-on songs in Westerberg's discography, while the stuffy interpretation of the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds burner "Straight to You" will put you straight to sleep—a state of mind much more pleasurable than Varshons 2 will leave you in. Listening to Varshons 2 is like catching up with a childhood friend—on surface level its pleasant, but as the conversation persists, the friendly emptiness becomes too painful to bear. (www.thelemonheads.net)

Author rating: 3/10