This album will really sneak up on you. When I first played it, it seemed somewhat, well, subdued. Not quite as poppy as "Whatever," not quite as hard-edged as "I'm With Stupid." But after listening to it again, I found myself unable to get it's songs out of my head. The subtlety of it's lyrics and melodies will sneak up and capture you. Now I can't stop listening to it! Bachelor No. 2 is nothing short of lyrically brilliant, and shows Aimee Mann has yet again developed her craft ever further. Imagine the acerbic wit of Elvis Costello combined with the masterful wordplay of a modern day Cole Porter or Ira Gershwin not afraid to use the "F" word to accent it's real life edginess. The top selections range from the jazzy, hypnotic "Calling It Quits" to the love blown up in your face resignation of "Susan" ("I guess I see it all in hindsight/I tried to keep perspective despite/The flash of the fuse, the smell of cordite"), "Red Vines" ("Well, it's always fun and games until/ it's clear you haven't got the skill/ in keeping the gag from going too far"), and the Elvis Costello co-written "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist," ("'cause the eggshells I've been treading/ couldn't spare me a beheading/ and I'll know I had it coming/ from a Caesar who was only slumming"). Great stuff accompanied by unique arrangements. This album also includes 3 selections off of Aimee's "Magnolia" soundtrack, but if you already own and enjoy that CD, let that be an encouragement, not discouragement, to add this keeper to your collection and explore it's wealth of riches.

The good thing about Bachelor No. 2 is that Aimee Mann fans, like me, will be extremely satisfied. The bad thing is that it's not really an Aimee starter album. She's getting all sorts of exposure with her Golden Globe and Oscar Nominations for "Save Me" from the "Magnolia" Soundtrack. If that's how you've become interested, "Magnolia" may be a better start, and "Whatever" is better yet. Still, Bachelor No. 2 has all the features that make her other works strong: strong vocals, music, and most of all, engaging lyrics. Aimee Mann uses pop-slang more like a poet than other popular musicians. Her appreciation for terms such as "Whatever" and "I'm with Stupid" are advertised in the names of her first two solo efforts, but her use of those terms comes alive in a way that defies cliché. That power is apparent in "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist," - "I'll know I had it coming from a Caesar who was only slumming." Here's a sentiment that really couldn't be expressed if the word "slumming" wasn't in vogue. Years from now, when it isn't, the song will leave a little hint about the age in which it was written. That's what Aimee Mann is really good at - expressing sentiments. A line from "Deathly," - "Now that I've met you would you object to never seeing each other again" inspired the movie "Magnolia." The whole film was built around a scenario on which that sentiment could be expressed. The song is one of a few that appears both on "Bachelor No. 2" and "Magnolia." Both albums could have been better still if they were released as one, without the annoying extra songs at the end of "Magnolia" by other artists. "Bachelor No. 2" can't serve as a substitute for "Magnolia" because it is missing some of the soundtrack's stronger songs, including the now-famous "Save Me." And the soundtrack is lacking "How am I Different," "Red" and most of the other songs on "Bachelor." Those songs make "Bachelor" worth having - it shouldn't stay single for long.

After the splendid eccentricity of her previous album and the hands down masterpiece that is "Whatever", we need no longer ask the question of whether an Aimee Mann album will be any good, but rather when she will become a household name. With that in mind, here's the scoop IMHO on the latest...

"Bachelor No.2" has a less experimental, more directly commercial and acoustic sound than previous records, which with a bit of luck will pay off in long overdue hits. "Red Vines" is a great summer cruising stuff; the hugely singalong "Fall of the World's Own Optimist" co-written with Elvis Costello, is fantastic; "Satellite", with its looping melodies is further proof of her way with a song in 3; and the tremendous gathering storm that is "Deathly" shows that a guitar solo can actually add to a song.

There are a few problems though. The verses of "Calling it Quits" stay the right side of cheesy, but the chorus doesn't, and "Driving Sideways" is a tad overproduced.

But these are small quibbles. All the tunes are splendid, the lyrics perceptive, and the 90% of the time when Mann or resident weirdo Jon Brion are in the production seat things are very lovely indeed. With her record company behind her now, could it be time for some hits?

I love lyrics. Their poetry has the power to comfort and inspire me like nothing else. "Now that I've met you, would you object to, never seeing each other again, 'cause I can't afford to, climb aboard you...." Wow. I am touched and in awe when an artist is able to capture so poignantly, both such complex and painfully simple inevitabilities of life. While battling traffic home, I was fatefully steered towards Aimee Mann when she was a guest on the NPR program, Fresh Air. She's quite an amazing woman: starting her own label because she simply would not acquiesce to the Machiavellian rules and oppressive supremacy of the corporate labels. I like to think that the first song on the album, "How Am I Different", is a message not just to some nebulous, self-obsessed man-boy, but also to the corporations that dominate the music world. She signs, "...'cause what do you care about the great divide as long as you come down on the winner's side." Buy this album. Wonderfully quirky and original instrumentals lovingly frame her full, evocative voice creating music that you will crave. Her unabashed honesty delivered with both determination and ingenuous disappointment will draw you in. Buy this album. You will love it.

You don't have to be an Aimee Mann fan to appreciate Bachelor No.2. I'm not. I've never listened to her Til Tuesday stuff or her older albums. Thank God because if I had, I probably wouldn't be able to approach this album and her Magnolia soundtrack with the pure, unblemished ears one is supposed to have while listening to music. Aimee Mann sings about universal things: Love, Truth, Honesty, Loyalty. These are things everybody can relate to. Her voice is soft and lush. She sounds like a woman who's been through too much in her life and wants to share her experiences with the rest of the world. That's amazing. Three of the songs on this album appear on the Magnolia soundtrack, and even though those songs are amazing, the rest of Bachelor No. 2 is great. Simple melodies hugging complex harmonies clinging to vivid words about heartbreak and redemption. Perfect for lazying about on a Sunday afternoon contemplating the meaning of your life. Or while doing dishes.