Public Places

ot surprisingly, Russell Simins' first solo excursion Public Places feels like a culmination of the work he's done with his various side projects as well as his main gig, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Fortunately, most of Public Places recalls the JSBE and Butter 08 rather than Crunt; the album opener "I'm Not a Model" mixes cheesy, sleazy samples with a sludgy, bottom-heavy groove. Many of the best songs, such as the flute-laden "Don't You Believe" and the stream-of-consciousness hip-pop of "Scope" and "Cookies and Cream" sound uncannily like unreleased Beck tracks -- but that's a good thing. The unapologetically dumb title track (which features the line "She likes girls/But she likes me better!") even feels like a slightly whiter version of the sex-machine pose Beck adopted on Midnite Vultures. Public Places falters a bit when Simins tries to out-and-out rock, as on "No 90210" and "World Over," which just aren't as distinctive as his artier work. However, the distant, moody ballad "Comfortable Place" and the final song "Stay" (which also features Cibo Mato/Butter 08 vocalist Miho Hatori) tip the album's balance toward Simins' strengths. Though it's not a consistent album, Public Places is a surprisingly diverse debut that will intrigue fans of Simins' other groups. ~ Heather Phares|