In an aught-nickel chock with bests-since-they-were-goods, Ric Ocasek is the rare once-was not angling for such faint kudos. Nope, the erstwhile Cars front-skinny-man opts with Nexterday for overlookable adult-pop sophistication, a humble homemade comedown from its Billy Corgan-produced 1997 predecessor, heavy near-miss Troublizing. A record for the pre-converted, Mr. Porizkova's latest aims not to wow or to woo but to waft, stripped down, in the conditioned chill of compact guitar squiggles, reverby vox, fastidious drum machines, and pleasant-enough platitudes.
The for-the-fans approach goes farthest when the geezer in question indulges the idiosyncrasies that made him beloved in the first; see Jonathan Richman's ongoing efforts. OK, sleek and tight were always Ocasek trademarks, but lean doesn't mean bony, and Nexterday wins when Ocasek strikes out into quirkier territory. The familiar synths are a good start, particularly on catchy "Come On", where a classic Cars line meets Tango in the Night sparkle. Playful lyrics crop up intermittently, as on "Don't Lose Me", with couplets like "Don't let me down/ Don't take my red chromium cup", and "Carousel", where clean guitar revolves carousel-like around a child-simple bass and Ocasek's still-Louie "Silly clown/ There's rain in your shoes."
But while Ocasek may play most of the instruments here, the songs often could be anybody's; see the lowlights of last year's Finn Brothers' return. "I just want to hold you tight/ Make sure everything it feels all right," Ocasek opines over too-pristinely chugga-chugging guitars on "Bottom Dollar", sounding more like a neutered Tom Petty. Soft-loud dynamics on opener "Crackpot" are torpedoed by excessively inoffensive production. "Please Don't Let Me Down" echoes "Don't Lose Me" ("don't let me down") and "Carousel" ("I'm going round and round") in regretful guitar ballad form. Sometimes dude's entirely half-assed: On "In a Little Bit", with a "Down Under" rhythm, Ocasek's all, "In a little bit you will know/ If it's all just rigmarole."
Then again, an old new waver who has it all and a bag of Circuit City royalty checks can be expected to sound a little complacent-- almost excused for it. Especially when he buries a couple of subtle pleasures toward the end of the album: Best Hiccupping Chorus goes to simple, catchy love ditty "Heard About You", and Best Guitar Solo (in a Lindsey Buckingham role) goes to closer "It Gets Crazy", which Nexterday unfortunately never does. Maybe tomorrow?
