Charmer is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released by SuperEgo Records in the UK on September 17, 2012, and in the US on September 18.[1]
The album was produced by Mann's bassist, Paul Bryan, and features a guest appearance by The ShinsfrontmanJames Mercer, who duets with Mann on the track "Living a Lie." It debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 33.
The video for the second single, "Labrador," is a shot-for-shot remake of the video for "Voices Carry," the 1985 hit of Mann's former band, 'Til Tuesday, with the exception of Town Hall replacing Carnegie Hall.[3]
Charmer so far has a score of 73 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews".[4]Jody Rosen, in Rolling Stone magazine, criticized its lyrics and production concluding "[T]here's little new here, and even less charm".[11]Allmusic, however, was more positive, citing its hooks as "spiky and precise", and concluding that it was "an immediate, engaging pop record".[5]
Other reviews are positive: Filter gave the album a score of 84% and stated that "Thirty years in, Mann continues to charm, a hidden glint in her eye."[12]Mojo gave the album four stars out of five and called it "an Americana and power-pop confection with piano and tasteful guitars swaddled in the choicest vintage tones."[4]The Independent gave it a favorable review and called it "Another sweet viper's bite of post-Freudian dyspepsia from the singersongwriter who loves to mistrust."[13]Paste gave it a score of 7.8 out of ten and stated: "The simple fact that Aimee Mann continues writing songs around these distressing observations and putting them out on such achingly beautiful records seems proof that-despite all the twisted, cutting truths she's spied under the lens of her artistic microscope—she still somehow clings to the sable cloud's silver flash."[14]The A.V. Club gave it a B and said that Mann "is able to match her ideas to music with real kick."[15]
Other reviews are average or mixed: Q gave the album three stars out of five and called Mann "good and snarky".[4]The New York Times gave it an average review and said it "represents a sunny term for [Mann], at least in relative terms."[16]The Boston Globe, however, gave it a mixed review and stated: "Too many tracks flirt with flat inconsequentiality, and too often the lyrics slip by without the sting of Mann's normally incisive wordsmithery."[17]
Track listing
All songs written by Aimee Mann, except where noted.
Jamie Edwards – electric guitar, piano, keyboards, tubular bells
Notes
^Available on both the Australian and Japanese versions of Charmer, in the Australian iTunes store, or released as the A side on a 7" vinyl as a bonus for those who preordered Charmer on vinyl at select record stores
^Available on the Australian version of Charmer, in the Australian iTunes store, and released as the B side on a 7" vinyl as a bonus for those who preordered Charmer on vinyl at select record stores
^Alluded to in at least one interview with Aimee Mann, though this song does not appear in any typical version of the album.
