Adam Schmitt - Demolition (2001)

The much delayed follow-up to Adam Schmitt's disappointing 1992 release Illiterature, 2001's Demolition largely ignores that album's tendency toward bloated and misguided heavy affectations in favor of returning to the concise power pop of his 1991 debut, World So Bright. These songs were recorded between 1993 and 2001 (this album was originally supposed to be released in 1998, but Schmitt, a notorious perfectionist, fiddled with the lineup, title, and mixing for close to three years), but thanks to Schmitt's uniformly fine songwriting and production skills, Demolition sounds like it could have been recorded in a single session. Rockers like the opening "See Me Fall" and the roaring "Alone on a Crashing Place" sit comfortably next to softer songs like the tender "Looking for Fate," and the whole album is less glossy than the early-'90s slickness of World So Bright. Given that Schmitt had nine years to stockpile songs, it's not surprising that Demolition is so consistently good.