The last time I saw the Loud Family, they were performing an in-store at a shabby indie rock record shop near Mount Pleasant, the punk rock heart of Washington, D.C. Though they gamely played songs from their then-new album, Days for Days, each member displayed a weariness and bewildered frustration. Was it due to the size of the crowd that bothered to stop by (the audience massed seven pairs of ears at the high point)? Or was it something more existential, a gnawing at the heart of Scott Miller's graceful indie pop?

I think I know why these guys got the hump. Though the in-store was advertised at least two weeks in advance, the shop had no Loud Family (or even Game Theory, Miller's original band) CDs or vinyl in stock. This, it struck me then, is the sole problem with the Loud Family: few people care about them. If ever there were a band that would benefit from online distribution of digital music, it's the Loud Family. Grateful thousands would leave Beemer-buying tips as they soared on the sublime delights of each of these band's numerous song. But perhaps I'm being a tad unrealistic. What if there's something inherently difficult about Scott Miller's bands, past and present? What if he's a curmudgeon and nobody gives a rat's chuff about his surly worldview?

Attractive Nuisance attempts to correct all that might be considered faulty. Gone are the ambient segues; vanished are the overly elusive lyrics. This album abounds with Miller's ineffably beautiful West Coast psychedelia, uncluttered and breathtakingly naked. But also absent-- and ever-so missed-- are the bile of "Ballad of How You Can All Shut Up" and the surreal logic of "Top-Dollar Survivalist Hardware." The strident power of these songs is replaced with a cynic's weariness, expressed in "Nice When I Want Something" and "Controlled Burn."

The guitars still buzz, the keyboards still bewitch, and Miller still writes songs that flood with swoonsome ideas. But all Attractive Nuisance's many resplendent joys won't be enough to bring the Loud Family and Scott Miller the acclaim they manifestly deserve. Hopefully in 20 years hence, Scott Miller will be lauded like Scott Walker was when Julian Cope compiled Fire Escape to the Sky: the Godlike Genius of Scott Walker and shook the world into recognition of the obvious. Don't be caught in the rush, enjoy this nuisance today.

-Paul Cooper