Love with the Proper Stranger (album)
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| Love with the Proper Stranger | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Nettwerk/I.R.S. | |||
| Producer | Mike Landolt | |||
| The Aquanettas chronology | ||||
| ||||
Love with the Proper Stranger is the debut album by the American band the Aquanettas, released in 1990.[1][2] A video was produced for the album's lead single, "Diplomat".[3] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[4]
All four band members contributed to the songwriting; they also worked with outside writers.[5] Their chief influences were the Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground.[6] Nettwerk Records intentionally distorted the band photo on the album's cover, so that the group would not be perceived as merely a "girl group".[3] "Pictures of Italy" is an ode to pasta.[7]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| The Ithaca Journal |  [9] |
| Lincoln Journal Star | B+[7] |
| Los Angeles Daily News | [10] |
| St. Petersburg Times | [11] |
Trouser Press wrote: "Without pushing it as a gimmicky signature, singer/guitarist Deborah Schwartz’s mighty voice is redolent of West Coast ’60s folkrockers like the Mamas and the Papas (and, therefore, the early Bangles as well); drummer Stephanie Seymour’s high harmonies enhance and elevate the effect, as do the acoustic strummings and Jill Richmond’s tradition-packed lead guitar interjections."[12] The Washington Post thought that the Aquanettas "aren't significantly retooling garage-rock, but they are keeping the engine warm," writing that the "melodic and vigorous ... tunes are vaguely Go-Go-ish, but more rakish."[13] The New York Times deemed the music "classic, basic rock-and-roll: just rugged guitar riffs and lyrics about the more bothersome aspects of romance."[14]
The Los Angeles Daily News called the album "a celebration of acid- etched melody, reverberant guitars and monotone vocals," writing that the music "suggests the Bangles on hallucinogens."[10] USA Today lamented that the Aquanettas "weren't produced very well."[15] The New Haven Register deemed Love with the Proper Stranger "one of 1990's overlooked gems."[16]