Seven's Eville Instigator Review... click here to submit your rhett review to us

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this album for months, and it's finally here! I ran to Cactus Music to buy it on my lunch break and immediately commandeered the office stereo. In the course of one (busted) afternoon, it has become official company theme music. If you're an Old 97s fan, you'll like it. If you're not an Old 97s fan, you'll like it too. If you don't like it, you're probably deaf, dumb, dead, or some combination of the three.

The albums I buy and like always have that one song on them that I end up listening to over and over again on repeat-World Inside the World is that song on this one. It's different every time you hear it, depending on the mood you're in at any given moment. If you're feeling sad and sappy, it will make you stare dramatically out the window or off into space and remember the one who got away. If you're in a good mood, it will make you wish you were singing in the shower. Actually, a lot of songs on this album will make me want to sing in the shower: Hover, which is generically pleasant, This is What I Do, and Come Around, the first single. In Come Around, Rhett begs the question, "Am I gonna be lonely for the rest of my life?" A little birdie told me that he recently got married, so my guess is NO, he will not, in fact, be lonely. For the rest of us who answered yes while leading a lonely, boring existence, at least we have some good music to listen to while being lonely and bored.

After the "Gee, I want to sing this song in the shower" category comes the "If I were drunk, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from dancing like an idiot to this song" category. Our Love is a great tune to be first on the album, it's King Of All The World-esque. I've heard two versions of this: the album version and an acoustic video stream I got through the Rhett Street Team. Both are great. Terrible Vision is perfect for everyone to clap in unison or flail like closed-eyed hippies. The background harmonies sound good and Beatles-y (she said in a good way). "You've got terrible vision if you don't see that I'm in love with you and that means everything." Let me never hear this song while drunk in public, because I will surely make a fool of myself.

The El is the country-est, Old 97s-est one. The speedy drums are as good as a Red Bull at waking me up from post-lunchhour sluggishness. On the flip-side, I like how Your Nervous Heart is too slow for its own good. If someone in the video were trying to walk to the beat, they'd fall over forward.

This album gets lots of stars, upward-pointed thumbs, and smiley faces. I hereby command you to race to your local music store and buy one or more copies of The Instigator.

Other people's reviews:

11/9/02 at The Roxy Theater Atlanta by Sarah