The third full-length by Olympia, WA's
Lois Maffeo finds the
singer-songwriter with a new pair of musical partners,
Fugazi drummer
Brendan Canty on guitar and ex-
Tiger Trap drummer
Heather Dunn, but otherwise continuing the low-key, but never
lo-fi, acoustic
twee pop of the earlier
Butterfly Kiss and
Strumpet. The difference this time is that
Maffeo's songwriting is sharper, with better melodies and cleverer lyrics. The opening
"Charles Atlas," a witty recasting of the wimp-turned-macho man ads from the comic books, is one of
Maffeo's best songs, with a memorable hook and sing-along chorus. The other nine songs on this brief (under 30 minutes) album benefit from
Maffeo's more self-assured vocals, which don't have the half-baked, flyaway quality that occasionally marred
Lois' earlier records; songs like
"Transatlantic Telephone Call" and the dreamy
"Wrestling an Angel" sound more like
the Pretenders or
Joni Mitchell than
Young Marble Giants or
the Softies. Some of the other tracks sound a bit more alike than they were probably meant to, but
Bet the Sky shows that
indie pop can exhibit a modicum of skill and sophistication yet still be
twee. ~ Stewart Mason
![A Bout de Heavenly [The Singles]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5020422053724_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "A Bout de Heavenly [The Singles]")