Made in China - Juliana Hatfield

I've been a fan of Juliana for a little over a decade now. Her early albums were really amazing, great songs, great musicanship, and wonderful production on the songs. As time progressed however, Juliana began to change into something different.

Which isn't always a bad thing. One has to grow if one wants to move forward as an artists or even as a person. I haven't liked all of her albums at the same level over the years as she experimented with differenent sounds. Some sounds fit her well, others don't. But you have to take the good with the bad, because everyone has differing opinions on what is good or bad.

I've held out hope that one day she would return to the days of "Hello Babe" or "Only Everything". Her latest album, "Made in China" proves that this isn't the day. Sonically, its one of her roughest sounding albums. On many of the songs it sounds like the insturments and her voice are all trying to muscle their way to the front so they can be heard. I'm not a big fan of this approach, it works on some songs sometimes, but not on all of the songs all of the time.

The songs themselves are ok. There are a few that are really nice, but most are just ok. This album also has the distinction of having my absoulte least favorite song of hers "Send Money". That song grates on my last nerve.

Overall the album is a little dissapointing. There are gilimers of the past, but the rough sounds and so-so songs really overshadow that. Most of Juliana's albums do grow on me over time (especially if my first listen isn't that impressive), and this one has grown on me a little, but not a lot. Perhaps it is best summed up by one of her lyrics from her time with the Blake Babies: "People wishing I'd come back, I don't want to change the fact. People crying for old days, I don't want to change that way."

I give it 4 out of 10.