Perfect

August 1 - 8, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

**1/2 Perfect

WHEN SQUIRRELS PLAY CHICKEN

(Medium Cool/Restless)
How frustrating it has to be for Tommy Stinson; he's never going to pry himself loose from that decade-plus spent as the littlest Replacement. Switching from bass to guitar, which was late brother Bob's weapon of choice, invokes one type of ghost. Writing songs that aim for something higher than dumb fun is another matter entirely, particularly given that poet laureate Paul Westerberg is still on the loose.
Four years ago, Tommy's first post-Replacements band, Bash & Pop, put out Friday Night Is Killing Me (Sire/Reprise), a spirited but so-so blip in musical history that did nothing to distinguish Tommy in his own write. Now his new band, Perfect, release Squirrels, a six-song EP that arrives with a sticker that mentions the Replacements. Anyway, Squirrels does invoke the spirit of the faraway past better than Friday Night, mainly because Tommy's got a more solid grip on songcraft. "Alternative Monkey" and "Miss Self-Esteem" stick to the brain; "Makes Me Happy" is one raucous smile. The past may loom forever in the Stinson world, but the here-and-now has its own winsome spark.
-- Amy Finch
(Perfect play at T.T. the Bear's Place this Saturday, August 3.)