The biggest mistake My Friend Stephanie makes on their new album, One of Those Days, is also its redeemer. The rest of the album, at times half-hearted and dull, winds down to a stunning remake of "Lullaby" from their debut album, Makeover. While this piece is beautiful and makes an excellent closer, it also reminds the listener of better times.

Makeover, an excellent album, was tainted by the release of MFS's sophomore album, All the Pieces. Although the second album contained a few good songs ("Journey" and the title track), most of it came across as filler material, which is a real shame. Lead singer Drue Bachmann has an astoundingly good voice, the rest of the band is tight and professional, and they have the potential to write absolutely gorgeous songs (to which "Lullaby" testifies). The problem is, they didn't live up to their potential at all on All the Pieces.

One of Those Days, the band's third album, soars high above All the Pieces, which isn't saying all that much. Only about half of the songs could be labeled above average, and the sound comes a little too close to Matthew Sweet on "Marie." "1969," a song about Larry Norman and the Jesus Movement, starts well but loses its magic when Bachmann begins to talk about his birth and childhood.

Interestingly enough, there are two songs that reference the love and support of Bachmann's parents. The first, "Are You There," includes a note that says "In the arms of your mother's love is a very safe place to be." The second, appropriately enough, is called "Mom and Dad," and is prefaced by a sound clip of Bachmann's father relating the story of the accident that nearly killed his son a few years ago.

The album, overall, is hooky and has the potential to do well on Christian rock radio if given the proper opportunity. The songs don't cover much new ground, but that won't matter to the majority of consumers. Many of the lyrics focus on broken relationships, such as the album opener "What's Goin' On:"

    What's goin' on?
    What has happened here?
    My baby's gone
    It seems she's all but disappeared
    No need to cry
    I've shed all my tears
    I look alive, but dead inside
    Girl, I need you here

While not as good as their debut, One of Those Days is a fairly solid effort, and even at its worst is better than All the Pieces. Hopefully, My Friend Stephanie will continue this improvement with their fourth album.

Michial Farmer  (8/24/99)

In 1995, Sunday Blue made their debut with Breathe, a critically-acclaimed album that drew a lot of publicity--too much, in fact, for Gray Dot Records' distribution. More importantly (to this reviewer at least), the extraordinary pop sensibilities of Drue Bachmann were being revealed. A near-fatal touring accident gave Bachmann inspiration for a new album, for which he reassembled most of the former members of Sunday Blue to create My Friend Stephanie. Heart-wrenching lyrics characterized Makeover, MFS' first record. The collapse of Innocent Media, the label to which the band was signed, left Bachmann in charge of everything from drawing radio support to booking and merchandising. The hard work paid off though, with a string of successful singles and a triumphant 1996-1997 tour. With All the Pieces, they returned to Gray Dot Records, and were finally able to settle down in a secure financial position and a good record label. Now, three years after All the Pieces, they return with One of Those Days. 

One listen through One of Those Days will quickly assure the listener that My Friend Stephanie are a band to be reckoned with. Drue Bachmann's trademark vocals and honest lyrics propel an album of extraordinary talent and artistry. Excellent production helps pave the way for tight pop songs, melodic rock hooks and electric tracks. From the synthesizer-woven "If You Want It" to the intense and emotional rock song "Reality," One of Those Days gives us glimpses of the genius residing inside Bachmann.

This is modern rock at a high standard, rising above a lot of other bands and setting a benchmark for anyone wishing to make creative music. The tone shifts from intricate ballads to radio-friendly pop/rock songs. The title track is, as far as I'm concerned, the best track, sticking in your head like a piranha to its prey.

However, it is certainly not the only highlight on the disc. "Believe In You," which first made its debut as a demo on Gray Dot's Toast & Olive, has been fixed up a bit, with more electric guitars and a fuller sound than the original version. The pianos and contemplative mood of "Are You There" remind me of Ben Fold Five's "Brick."

The real prize in One of Those Days are the lyrics. Bachmann speaks from the heart, whether recalling memories, talking about lost love or thanking his parents. "1969" takes a political look at the year in which he was born, and is a lesson in history for those from more recent years. In aforementioned "Are You There," he talks about the comfort mothers can provide, as he states in the liner notes: "In the arms of your mother's love is a very safe place to be." "So Happy" is a friendly reminder that he knows how to write happy songs. "Mom and Dad" is another song to Bachmann's parents. As an introduction, Bachmann's father speaks about a time when Drue was in the hospital, and the family could hold thanksgiving together around his hospital bed. This little speech does get kind of tiring, but can easily be skipped because it is placed as a separate track. The acoustic atmosphere of the actual song makes it a nice tune of thanks.

    The wind blows on an autumn day 
    As my mind thinks back I just have to say 
    I'm thankful 
    I'm so very thankful... 

    I've been criticized from the very start 
    But two people have been there with all of their heart

    Maybe not understanding the things that I do 
    But they know that God speaks to me as well as them too...

After an eight and a half minute remake of 'Lullabye', drummer Tim"Yoki" Watts delivers a final couple of blows to the skins, and, like a heart that’s been pounding rapidly but has calmed down, the album is over. But with a satisfied feeling tingling your body, you stick the record in for another spin. 

Eric Daams 11/99

Playing power pop music has always been a precarious enterprise.  The original flurry of of artists hit in the early 1970s when bands like the Flamin' Groovies, Badfinger and the Raspberries joined the Beatles' melodious pop sensibility with the crunching, riff-heavy hard rock of the Kinks and the Who.   But, while the Raspberries and Badfinger scored a handful of Top 20 hits and no doubt helped encourage the larger-scale power pop movement during the mid-'70s, the decided majority of artists spent the decade laboring away in virtual obscurity in the shadow of their more successful arena and progressive rock cousins before disappearing altogether in the wake of the early-'80s new wave music boom. In recent years, though, a new crop of musicians have dared to picked up the power pop mantle, turning out delightfully catchy music built squarely upon the scaffolding of the three-and-a-half-minute pop song.

For the bulk of their third release, One of Those Days, the members of My Friend Stephanie adhere relatively closely to the power pop template. "Yet to Come" posts twangy, Duane Eddy-like guitar effects nimbly against a wall of lively power chords to give the song its buoyant pop character.  The semi-theatrical moog treatments and alliterative lyrical structure of "If You Want It" (If you want it/ You got it/ I'm waiting for you/ I'm never far away) give the decidedly lighthearted tune an infectious sense of optimism. And numbers like "What's Goin' On" and "Marie" are stamped with the tight, soaring harmonies and refreshingly sincere, almost naïve, language (I was sitting in my kitchen/ Thinking of you/ How I wish that you still loved me/ How I wish that you still knew) that have always inhabited the true pop genre.

As impressive and energetic as these entries are, the quality of the music is diminished when the group ventures outside of its power pop domain.  The sweeping ballad "Mom and Dad," which is certainly based on noble enough sentiment, winds up being submerged by its trite lyrical statements (I've been criticized from the very start/ But two people have been there with all of their heart) and cloying delivery.  And the remade "Lullabye 99," while arguably impressive by virtue of its sheer length, is still more protracted than grand and merely serves as a retread of the original 1996 version.  In all fairness, the remaining songs are mostly innocuous enough and feature agreeable melodies and accessible subject matter.  But they still crumble, by and large, under the weight of their clichéd wording and undistinguished musical structures.  Although not necessarily bad, the tracks are ultimately forgettable, paling in comparison to the more innovative lyrical constructions and infectious hook lines of modern-day popsters like Fountains of Wayne or the Hang Ups. 

Still, although One of Those Days certainly has its fair share of weaker songs, the amount of filler material is easily outweighed by the quantity of sparkling, well-written pop-rock.  And, given the album's hour-plus length, the good songs alone constitute a fairly impressive album in their own right.   It's probably no stretch to say that My Friend Stephanie is not likely destined generate a horde of similarly-minded artists set to infiltrate the Top 40.  But, from its very inception, power pop has been the domain of groups concerned less about potential chart success than simply making the kind of music that they love.  And the amiable and spirited One of Those Days is indeed a worthy addition to this sparse but earnest parcel of the rock music landscape.

Bert Gangl 05/19/2000