Almost nine years ago I picked up an album called Here Comes The Groom by a guy with the strange name of John Wesley Harding. I think that a sticker on the cover said that Elvis Costello fans should take note because Harding was backed by two- thirds of the Attractions. I dug the album to a degree that now seems excessive-- if memory serves I contemplated going to the roof of a parking garage with a semi- automatic rifle, where I would shoot pedestrians at random until the world acknowledged that this was the year's finest release. Ah, youth, you son of a bitch, where did you go?

Soon after that I bought Harding's Christmas EP, which included a kick- ass acoustic cover of Madonna's "Like A Prayer," a pretty clever move considering that irony had yet to become humor's Gold Standard. Then came The Name Above The Title, which was a lot like the last album, only not as good; music had changed but Harding seemed to be standing still. I sold it and picked up the new Public Enemy, and Wes and I lost touch after that.

After Harding left Sire for Zero Hour, he apparently explored his politicized troubadour self for a couple of albums before releasing Awake, which seems to be a blend of his acoustic folk and Baroque pop sides. It starts promisingly with "Your Ghost (Don't Scare Me No More)" which, believe it or not, actually uses a funky drum break and b-horror organ to send up Dr. Dre's production style within the structure of a conventional pop song. Impressive.

After that, it's a choppy ride as too many songs lack any real character and slide slowly into generic lite- rock territory. Especially annoying is Harding's folkster tendency to write songs that are about himself, on which he'll sing, "This is a song I wrote myself in the future" (on the song of the same name) and "If I die tomorrow don't read too much into this song" ("Burn"). This kind of clever schtick might play in the Borders Books Coffee Shop, but on an album that has to bear the burden of repeated listening you'll be tossing your biscotti in no time.

Harding is still in fine voice and he hasn't lost his knack for pop hooks, thus redeeming the album to an extent. It's amazing how similar he sounds now to where I left him-- take away a couple of drum loops and add a little more energy and intricate production and this could be Hear Comes The Groom II. The first album had "Scared of Guns," here we have "I'm Staying Here (And I'm Not Buying a Gun)"; Awake has "Poor Heart" to Groom's "Dark Dark Heart." It's admirable, in a way, that he's sincere and doing what feels natural instead of going overboard to cop to trends. But I already have an album that expresses these thoughts, and it's a more entertaining listen. I'll stick with Here Comes The Groom.

-Mark Richard-San