Word: disturbingly
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...braved below-freezing temperatures, trudging through slush and snow to witness the return of a local legend. Juliana Hatfield was back with a full band for the first time in two years, kicking off the U.S. leg of a tour in support of her new EP Please Do Not Disturb. Along with a cold picked up last week in Australia, Hatfield seemed slightly ill at ease--perhaps with the prospect of a national tour looming ahead, a new band member's aggressive stage presence (red-jumpsuited bassist Mike Welsh) or the daunting prospect of signing with a new label. Though...
Starting in the late '80s with the seminal Boston indie-pop band Blake Babies, Hatfield has built a career around her girlish, often straining voice and simple, pop driven song structures. The recent release of Please Do Not Disturb, however, marked a sharp departure for the Boston-based artist. With its hollow, often menacing production, heavily distorted bass guitar and aggressive, direct lyrics, the EP opened up for her a whole new arena of musical possibilities. Hatfield's show reflected all of the strengths and weaknesses of the new approach...
Please Do Not Disturb is intended to tide over Hatfield fans until the legal haggling over God's Foot subsides, and it succeeds not only in this respect but also in generating a great deal of excitement regarding any future Juliana Hatfield releases. Despite its short duration, Please Do Not Disturb incorporates a high degree of experimentation, the majority of which is exhilarating and successful...
Gone is the overt pop exuberance of the 1993 hit "Spin the Bottle," and the openly confessional tone of such Hatfield classics as "Everybody Loves me But You" and "Ugly". Instead, each track on Please Do Not Disturb contains a creative approach to personal songwriting. Rather than bowl over her audience with pained confidences, Hatfield has chosen to seek out alternate methods of self-expression...
...though, is the true triumph of Please Do Not Disturb. It incorporates the same mega bass of "Give Me Some Of That" but melds it seamlessly with an achingly beautiful pop refrain. Starting out as neogrunge, the song quickly shifts to minimalist slow-core hooks for the verse. When Juliana commands early on to "Get off of me!", it sounds pretty imposing. Suddenly, though, the song shifts gears; as the chorus approaches, the thrash elements melt away, leaving only a soaring, melodic vocal line that is not a command at all, but a poignant plea...