Reading Writing & Arithmetic
Like the album's title, this music is about the basics. This seminal release from 1990 rerouted pop music for several years, and for the better. This simple guitar/bass/drum/vocal affair cut like a searchlight through the fog of tortuously overproduced music of the time, as The Sundays proved that more is often merely more. Harriet Wheeler's lilting, swooningly sweet voice is clearly the strong driving factor behind this debut's appeal, fore-grounded through spare arrangements and an almost timid rhythm section, though the timbre of Wheeler's voice is perfectly matched to David Gavurin's terrific 12-string guitar. Taken as a whole, the album bears repeated listening, even though some of the songs tend to blur together. The hit single "Here's Where the Story Ends" is rivaled by, if not equal to, "You're Not the Only One I Know," "I Kicked a Boy," and "Joy."--Alan E. Rapp