Music Review: Adam Green's "Minor Love"

By our guest blogger, Megan O'Malley

In the last few years, Adam Green has gained a boost in his popularity thanks to the movie “Juno.” One half of the former group "The Moldy Peaches," Green and Kimya Dawson are responsible for the heart-warming, if not overly sappy song, “Anyone Else But You” that Ellen Page and Michael Cera play at the end of the film. Although "The Moldy Peaches" no longer make music together, Green still writes and records albums in that same anti-folk vein.

His latest album, “Minor Love,” is a collection of songs that cover everything from witches and goblins to themes of abuse and murder. At times, the album sounds as if it’s made up of kid songs for grown-ups. Other times, his deep, round voice really hits on emotional heartache and love, such as in “Buddy Bradley.”

This is an album filled with hits and misses. At points, it sounds as if Green just put everything he recorded onto the album rather than choosing only the best tracks. Other times, songs sound unfinished, such as “Cigarette Burns Forever.” This is part of Green’s way of working, though, and listeners just have to deal with it. “Minor Love” has sounds that span both time and musical genres. Listeners can hear disco and country influences as well as Velvet Underground-type noise rock. “What Makes Him So Bad” sounds as if Green is channeling Lou Reed, and “Boss Inside” sounds as if Johnny Cash himself is singing. He never loses the sound he and Dawson cultivated and some of the tracks are very much like "The Moldy Peaches." “Stadium Soul” is a sweet little piece that exudes the tenderness and simplicity of “Anyone Else But You.”

Adam Green is a man who knows the type of music he wants to make and doesn’t care what others think of it. He is someone people either love for his quirky style or find annoying as hell. “Minor Love” is similar to his previous work in both style and sound. Although some people will want to pass on Green’s offbeat sense of humor and lyrics, give it a try.