Blake Babies: God Bless The Blake Babies

A relic of college radio's infatuation with Boston's indie-pop scene, the reunion of Blake Babies is not, suffice it to say, as hotly anticipated as this summer's return of Roxy Music. But it's bound to strike a nostalgic chord, taking listeners back to the late '80s and early '90s: the dominance of the R.E.M.-inspired strum, the are-they-or-aren't-they relationship of Juliana Hatfield and Lemonhead (and one-time Blake Baby) Evan Dando, the Pixies' inexplicable failure to ascend to superstardom, and the rise and fall of Belly. While not an overwhelming album, God Bless The Blake Babies certainly suggests that the group is better off together than apart. By the time of last year's ill-fated Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure and Beautiful Creature, two simultaneously released albums without a memorable song between them, Hatfield had more or less exhausted her solo career. John Strohm and Freda Love Smith, the orphaned Blake Babies who went on to form Antenna, always earned more respect than attention. By pooling their resources, the two camps scare up some nice moments here, though they're more likely to satisfy old fans than win new ones. Two highlights originate from outside the group: a cover of Madder Rose's "Baby Gets High," and "Brain Damage," a duet between Dando and Hatfield penned by Dando and Ben Lee. But the instantly catchy "Disappear," co-written by Hatfield and Strohm, provides reason enough for the reunion. "What I wouldn't do / to go back to '92," Hatfield sings, on a song that oddly makes the best case for the band's future.