Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby

Wreckless Eric’s latest is full of Beatles references, but ultimately delivers little more than cartoon-gooey pop and nostalgia.

Andrew Weatherall, the prolific DJ/producer, described Wreckless Eric’s last album, 2004’s Bungalow Hi, as sounding “like Bo Diddley trying to outdo Aphex Twin.” Perhaps thankfully, Wreckless Eric’s latest—a self-titled duo with singer/songwriter and wife Amy Rigby—sounds nothing like Bo Diddley. However, it’s chockfull of Beatles references: the “Here Comes the Sun”–referenced “Here Comes My Ship,” the Abbey Road hustle of “Another Drive-In Saturday,” the fuzzy crunch of “First Mate Rigby.” The Fab Four are even mentioned in the hilarious anti-Birkenstocks ode, “Men in Sandals” (“If the Beatles came ’long/In this enlightened age/They’d be lame like Phish/You can’t kick ass in Tevas”). But beyond the gently weeping guitar licks and cartoon-gooey pop, there’s not much left but nostalgia. Particularly when considering that the best outcome of a guy/girl doo-wop dynamic was already delivered this year by She & Him. Suddenly, Bo Diddley outdoing Aphex Twin doesn’t sound so bad.