Aztec Camera

January 4 - 11, 1 9 9 6

** 1/2 Aztec Camera

FRESTONIA

(Reprise)

On his recent releases, Aztec Camera's Roddy Frame has taken a sharp detour from his familiar jangly guitar into lush, orchestral pop tunes. It's not a bad move, and occasionally Frame carries it off, but Frestonia, unlike 1994's Dreamland, tends to slip into a sameness that's neither comforting nor warm. No denying it, Frestonia is pretty -- from the piano flourishes on "Rainy Season" to the catchy simplicity of "Beautiful Girl." And Frame's soaring, occasionally gritty vocals add a necessary edge to songs like "Imperfectly," which, handled by a purer voice, might come across as sugarcoated.

But even with this twist Aztec Camera have a disquieting ability to write songs that sound as if you'd heard them somewhere before. Several tunes on Frestonia have an odd singsong quality reminiscent in "On the Avenue" of A Taste of Honey's "Sukiyaki." And Frame's recurring topic of socialite women remains picaresque but offputtingly eccentric -- how to explain having "The Belle of the Ball" on your last album and "Debutante" on this one? Still, there are worse fates than having Aztec Camera crooning partially recycled pop songs in the ear.

-- Randee Dawn Cohen