Monster in the Mirror

The solo debut of Sunless Days' Aaron Nudelman, Monster in the Mirror is 25 minutes of sunny, psychedelic {folk-pop}. With his voice strongly recalling Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner, Nudelman is generous with his songwriting hooks, offering song after song of fairly simple pop confections. While he occasionally is a little too predictable melodically, and his lyrics aren't entirely clever, there is an engaging good-natured quality throughout. Rainy Day Okay builds crisp drums on top of simple acoustic guitar, almost sounding like a lost early Cat Stevens demo, with the other tracks featuring a similarly live, ebullient sound. Still, Nudelman's shortcomings as a lyricist are evident on break-up ballads like the all-too-earnest Miss You, saved only by a strangely out-of-place wah-wah guitar solo, and the painfully sincere Same Old Time. He doesn't do all that much better with dark, pensive pronouncements, either, with the tortured Sunrise, Sunrise falling somewhat flat. In short, Nudelman is generally better to plug into reliable formulas and get out of the way. But, even if he is occasionally more Monkees than Beatles, his guilty pleasures hold up after repeated listens and offer more than a few pleasant surprises along the way. ~ Matt Fink, All Music Guide