The Smithereens - A Date With The Smithereens FLAC

This alternative power pop album slipped under most people's radar and didn't get very good reviews, yet "Miles from Nowhere" and "Point of No Return" both should've been contenders to reach the Top 10 in the modern rock/college radio charts. They're strong pop songs with great harmonies, every bit as good as "Only a Memory" musically. Pat DiNizio's vocal style is no worse than any other '90s rocker's, although there may be a case for claiming that his relatively straightforward style was becoming a little dated, too tied to the late '80s/early '90s alternative rock scene. My guess, though, is that the album's failure is mainly just in the lyrics, which at times are just too juvenile for the band's otherwise somewhat "serious" sound. Nevertheless, having come of age in this era, I enjoy the sound of tracks 1, 2, 3, and 5 well enough to put them in my shuffle-play rotation, and I also kept the ridiculously indulgent tracks 6 & 9 as guilty pleasures.