Juliana Hatfield once said that happy lyrics don't
come naturally to her, and her slick, mellow eighth album offers little to
contradict that statement. How To Walk Away features a series of
unsentimental examinations of what it means to be alone, to be left behind. In "This
Lonely Love," over a sturdy piano, Hatfield sings about a love that lacks "the
touch of flesh and blood." (Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs sings in the
background, but his distinctive rasp is lost in the gloss.) "Now I'm Gone" is
the closest thing to a full-bore rocker: Meaty guitar punches through the aural
varnish as Hatfield gives an aristocratic lover the kiss-off. In "Remember
November," the simple rhyme of the title efficiently expresses the resignation
felt by someone filled with pleasant memories of a short, passionate, necessary
affair. The song finds Hatfield playing a libidinous alpha female who enjoys
playing with her boy-toys. If only there was more of this devilish grit on How
To Walk Away.
Here's hoping Hatfield can find a future middle ground between her twin
passions for clean pop and dirty rock.