Dean Wareham has been an underground icon for longer than many of his fans have been alive, and while few can claim allegiance all the way back to the Galaxie 500 days; he built up quite a following with Luna over the last fifteen years. While the quality of that band’s quirky and morose (yet charming) output often varied from album to album, it was never less than interesting. The same claim would be a stretch when describing album #2 for Wareham’s latest project, Dean and Britta, as he cedes half the stage to Britta Phillips, his wife and latter-stage Luna bassist. The music on Back Numbers is breezy and easy, recalling at times everything from Nico and the ‘60s bachelor pad era to the more recent dreamy indie rock of bands like The Delgados. The pair’s voices don’t actually mesh especially well, leaving the album to feel, at times, more like a series of alternating tracks than a collaboration. Which is not to say that the album isn’t any good - tracks like the understated “Words You Used to Say” and the Lee Hazelwood / Ann Margaret cover, “You Turn My Head Around” are actually quite delightful. But while Back Numbers will likely cement the loyalty of the many Wareham fans that are already down with the program, there is little chance that the bands protagonists will break into the mainstream any time soon, a fact that probably suits them just fine.
~ Bob Mallon
Buy Album from CD Universe
