might as well

Acetone's self-titled album, released in 1997 on vapor records, is generally considered their worst album, panned by critics as sounding lazy and frequently out of tune. it also happens to be my favorite Acetone record, showing you what little i know. the la-based group, formed by three art school friends from the ashes of a punk-surf band named Spinout, debuted as Acetone in the early ninties with the album Cindy and a touring gig as the opening act to vernon yard labelmates the Verve. that album was a bit all over the place, with garage-y rock, guitar pop and droneiness interceptingone other. on their follow-up ep the group scrapped everything and released an album of country and folk covers and then with I Guess I Would, they then abandoned the twang and focused on harmonies and the dreary pop that would carry over for their remaining albums. their label imploded and Acetone were picked up by the Neil Young imprint label, vapor records, that released their final two albims. perhaps my love of the first of those two albums stems from the fact that they toured with Spiritualized to support it and it was one of the best shows i've ever been to. it's dirt slow downtempo pop fueled by heavy drinking and heavy sentiments. following the release of York Blvd., vocalist/bassist (and accomplished artist) richie lee committed suicide (thus the story behind the Spiritualized song "the Ballad of Richie Lee"). the band became yet another from the los angeles area that many expected to get big, but who instead put out some fine albums and then faded into rock's history.

Acetone "Might As Well"