Aimee Mann plays to an illusory type on Mental Illness, a serene album of delicate, mournful songs with characters walking off cliffs, stuck in holes and escaping to amusement parks.
Aiming to write the “saddest, slowest, most acoustic” songs as tongue-in-cheek confirmation of her image as a peddler of gloominess, Mann succeeds – maybe too well.
Pulling the plug on the electric charge of her recent projects, Mann’s classy melodies soothe the heavy emotional themes but the darkness rarely dissipates. The consistency in her depiction of frustrating or failed relationships may well be a plus but, if you happen to be slightly off-center yourself, it could tip you over.
You may feel compelled to abandon all hope in the Mental Illness inferno. But, oh, those melodies are heavenly.