A few years ago, I saw Jack Drag open for Guided by Voices. Personally, I thought they played a decent set, but the rest of the GBV diehards would have none of it. The next day, Guided by Voices message boards were all abuzz with people bitching about the "nasty-sounding band" that had opened for their heroes. Apparently, Jack Drag frontman John Dragonetti was taking notes.

Dragonetti, having been ditched by A&M; Records, has responded by ditching his band, thus forgoing the thick, commercial radio-ready sound of Dope Box for a more lo-fi, pop-centered sound. Not wise. Dope Box's biggest strength was its pummeling, big rock moments. Soft Songs is an appropriate title, indeed-- the tracks on this album never approach the compelling rhythmic thump of Dope Box's better tracks. And that's not saying much.

Come to think of it, Dope Box and Soft Songs have absolutely nothing in common. If I didn't know better, I would swear these two albums were recorded by completely separate bands. Minus the big studio treatment, Dragonetti sounds like another man entirely. Shit, he even looks different. The PR machine at A&M; apparently managed to take more realistic-looking pictures than the one featured on Soft Songs' insert-- one in which Dragonetti looks like Matthew Sweet after pulling an all-nighter.

Whether or not these changes are intentional is anyone's guess. It's quite possible that, after being dropped by a major, Dragonetti is doing his best to get back in with the fickle indie rock crowd. It's also entirely possible that this is the album he always wanted to make, if only the fatcats at A&M; would have allowed it. But it doesn't really matter. The bottom line is that Soft Songs just isn't that good.

The record kicks off with "Aviating," an all-too typical acoustic pop song with an all-too typical chord progression. It certainly isn't offensive, but it's far from riveting. "We Could've Been Big" starts out as a relatively clever slice of post-major label melancholy: "We could've been big/ It would've been nice/ We might have been more popular than Jesus Christ." The song continues, as Dragonetti sings, dripping with irony, "Boy, you're gonna be big/ Girl, you're gonna go far/ But if I hear that sound again/ I'll burn that fucking guitar." The lyrics are almost good enough to distract us from the fact that the song itself isn't doing anything.

At about this time, the layered guitar effects that were such an integral part of past Jack Drag releases come in. Unfortunately, rather than using them for flavor, these sonic spices are used to cover up some pretty rotten songwriting. In a few cases, perfectly serviceable yet dull hooks are given layered guitar treatments that do nothing to ameliorate. In other cases, songs completely disintegrate into unfocused guitar pedal wankathons from hell.

Soft Songs is dedicated to, among others, Dragonetti's bandmates, Jason and Joe. My question is: why the fuck would anyone record an album sans band, including his own desperate attempts to negotiate a drumset, and then go on to dedicate the album to his now-absent bandmates? The whole thing reeks of suspicion. My hypothesis? Dragonetti wanted to record another album with his band, but feared that trying to resurrect that "major label sound" would rob him of his core audience. Nice try.

-Matt LeMay