Tim

The Replacements’ fourth album fuses the guitar power of Duane Eddy and ’70s punk with Big Star-style pop balladry and the lyrical empathy and humour of a gifted author. Barstool melancholy and regret permeate spine-tingling heartbreakers “Here Comes a Regular” and “Swinging Party,” while trashy guitars and self-contempt make “Bastards of Young” the anthem of a generation. Winking put-down “Waitress in the Sky” and proletariat love odes “Kiss Me on the Bus” and “Little Mascara” come out swaggering. As for bandleader Paul Westerberg’s world-weary vocals, they bring an aching truth to it all.