Possum Dixon: New Sheets

Possum Dixon's first single, 1993's "Watch The Girl Destroy Me," was a modest radio hit, but success has generally eluded the new-wavey L.A. rock band. Which is too bad, because when Possum Dixon is on—as it was throughout most of 1996's commercially stillborn Star Maps—it's a treasure. Though it's uneven, the group's third album, New Sheets, delivers an ample dose of punchy, potent songcraft. "Holding (Lenny's Song)" pulsates with nicely understated aggression, driven by a cheesy keyboard line that renders the song all but irresistible, while "Only In The Summertime" is propelled by a nice, familiar guitar riff that could have been drawn from any number of AOR classics. Either instrumental effect could have been mined as kitsch; instead, Possum Dixon smartly uses them to render its rock songs as timeless as possible. New Sheets flattens out a bit as it progresses, relying too heavily on mid-tempo material like the title song, but even some of these anti-climactic tracks work: "Stop Breaking Me" builds into an anthem as it progresses, while "Heavenly" and "Faultlines" come off as alternately thoughtful and unsettling. Ric Ocasek's production stamp is all over New Sheets—it sounds as much like The Cars as any outside project he's produced—which only adds to its glossy appeal. And even if the album is front-loaded with its best songs, it still delivers a hell of a spark.