Juliana Hatfield Three

Whatever, My Love (American Laundromat)

Juliana Hatfield once tried smoking cigarettes to toughen her voice. Twenty-two years on, the former Blake Babies leader stays true to form. February’s Whatever, My Love thus continues where the reunited trio halted, after its sole output, 1993’s Become What You Are. Still, the bassist, a dozen solo albums later, sings of dysfunctional partnership commonplace at 25 – only Hatfield, now 47, realizes that folly’s staleness. “My boyfriend’s mean/ He shoots up in front of me,” “Ordinary Guy” complains, concluding, “I want a really normal guy.” The saccharine “Now That I Found You,” alternatively, sounds rom-com-destined, while darker “I Don’t Know What to Do With My Hands” trumps droll. Weak cut “If Only We Were Dogs” unfolds precisely its title. Lyrically, the LP lacks the wit of past work like the clever “Supermodel,” but stylistically, the Bostonians haven’t missed a step. (Fri., 1am, Buffalo Billiards)

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This article appears in March 20 • 2015.

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