Eef Barzelay

Lose Big

(429 Records)
Reviewed by Vadim Rizov
June 17th, 2008

"Could Be Worse" by Eef Barzelay

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Eef Barzelay's first album since he officially scrapped his long-running band, Clem Snide, bears little relation to his first solo disc, the pared-down Bitter Honey. This one's a full-band affair, which is a bit of a shame: Alone, Barzelay sounds more pleasurably, well, bitter. "Girls Don't Care" is pretty, its lazy jangle harkening to the best of '90s college-rock, but Barzelay's assault is equal parts silly. ("The girls don't care that you ache to be free") and sap ("The girls just want a sweet melody.") The lengthy wailer "True Freedom" is pure miss: Barzelay's voice with minimal musical backing has never been his strongest point. The minor apocalypses are better: The opening Merge-rock crunch of "Could Be Worse" and the ever-present agnostic angst of "Apocalyptic Friend" work great. Better still are the bonus Clem Snide tracks at the end: the unreleased "Me No," from a scrapped album, and relative chestnut "I Love The Unknown." Both tracks are reminders of the acerbic but not overwrought voice Barzelay once had a firmer grasp on.