Beloved in their hometown of Portland, New Bad Things never caught as much fire around the rest of the U.S. But, their 7" single "I Suck" had been placed in the hands of one of the most influential DJs around: John Peel. He featured that song and other tracks from the band's first album Freewheel on his BBC Radio One program throughout 1993, eventually capturing the band on tape for a pair of Peel Sessions and convincing the band to try their hand at living in the UK for a stretch. Their trip to England helped them gain a number of new fans and acolytes. These included folks like Darren Hayman of Hefner (who was fond of covering NBT songs on record and in concert) and the head of the London-based indie label Lissy's who released the band's second LP Society. The 19 tracks the band concocted for this new album helped to crystallize an approach towards songwriting that was as charmingly devil-may-care - they veered from lo-fi experimental funk folk like "Positivity" to tossed-off gems like "Boy W/The Band" and "Let's Get High" to the pure psychedelia of "Chess In The Park" - as it was perfectly constructed (album closer "The Dirge" is still one of the best songs to come from the Portland music scene in those heady days of the '90s). It was an album that also helped bring the individual visions of the band's many songwriters to the fore. You could always rely on guitarist Luke Hollywood to create jumpy odes to small town life and the terrors and tortures that lay within, Christine Denkwater wrote songs that were likely as fun to play as they were to listen to, and Matthew Hattie Hein wore his heart on his tattered sleeve. Others sprinkled the album with moments of jubilance, raw emotion, and stoned jamming. This is the second full length from Portland, OR, band who apparently frequent the same instrument tuners who have made Pavement, Sea and Cake and Thinking Fellers such beloved figured in the alternative rock scene. For fans of the genre, there are enough false starts, lazily whispered voacals, loosely strung, off-key instrumentals and bang-a-can rhythems to keep things interesting throughout. What makes the New Bad Things-well-new bad things is their very real ear for melody: clear, memorable, at times Beatle-worthy melodies that rise above the wobbly instrumentals and mumbled vocals like a drug-fed pheonix staggering out of the ashes. Maybe this is what Sqt. Peppers would have sounded like if producer George Martin had been gobbling down acid in the studio along with the musicians. The considerable highlights include, "FMLN," a soft muted elegy for "all the young punk rockers," and the rude, syncopated slap at new age self-reliance on "Positivity," complete with a funky trumpet and wah-wah guitar.