Paul Westerberg
Folker
(Vagrant)
Hey, hey, hey, Paul Westerberg is back again! And this time it sounds just like… Paul Westerberg. It’s true that he writes great tunes, but four albums in two years could tap out even the biggest Replace-ments fan’s tolerance for gravelly grump pop. Folker feels slightly underdeveloped: Westerberg has at least one great moment on almost every track, but he rarely takes the time to develop that moment into a great song. Better mixing could’ve also helped pull things together.
—Matt Charlton
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.