Me. Me. Me. (also stylized as me. me. me.) is the only album by the American indie rock band Air Miami, released in 1995.[2] It was recorded after the breakup of Unrest, the former band of guitarist Mark Robinson and bassist Bridget Cross.[3] The band promoted the album with a North American tour that included shows with Throwing Muses.[4]
| Me. Me. Me. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Recorded | May 1995 | |||
| Studio | Criteria | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Label | 4AD/Teenbeat[1] | |||
| Producer | Guy Fixsen | |||
| Air Miami chronology | ||||
| ||||
Production
editRecorded during two weeks in May 1995 at Criteria Studios, in Miami, the album was produced by Guy Fixsen; Gabriel Stout played drums.[5][6][7] It was the band's intention to produce an album of short songs.[7] "Afternoon Train" is a re-recording of the final Unrest single.[8]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The Austin Chronicle |  [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [11] |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer | [12] |
| Press & Sun-Bulletin | A[13] |
| Spin | 8/10[14] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [15] |
Me. Me. Me. was met with generally favourable reviews. The Washington Post wrote that Robinson and Cross "trade lead vocals on 13 short songs that combine bubblegum tunefulness ('Neely'), with lounge-ballad melancholy ('Seabird'), evanescent soundscapes ('Reprise') and occasional space-rock bleeps."[6] Trouser Press thought that "the bubblegum aftertaste left by segments of Me. Me. Me. is a bit too strong when Robinson indulges his propensity for creating inconsequential chantalongs like 'World Cup Fever', but he offsets that with reams of bracing, Fire Engines-styled guitar and a guileless new wave sensibility (see 'Dolphin Expressway') that should sway all but the most diehard Anglophobe."[16] The Austin Chronicle deemed the album "a heady mix of danceable trivialities and serious longing."[10] The Tampa Tribune concluded that "Air Miami soars through a universe of pop styles with a surfeit of panache and a minimum of bombast... Pure pleasure—clean, clever, surprising."[15]
Spin called Robinson "one of the few men in indieland who can hold a vocal melody," and wrote that "the guitar work here is as nimble as Dean Wareham's."[14] The Post and Courier determined that "Robinson's avant pop/punk songs are fun, and serve as great set-ups for Cross' more oblique offerings."[17] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch labeled the album "alternately fun and pretentious, like most 4AD stuff," writing that "faced with the choice of copping either atmospheric Velvets-style arrangements or Wire-esque sprinters, Air Miami did the all-American thing and riffed off both."[18]
AllMusic wrote that, "unsurprisingly, early drum machines provide percussion as well, a sonic signifier that also fits nicely more often than not ... Me, Me, Me is a simpler musical pleasure than most."[9] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide opined that Me. Me. Me. "doesn't have the giddiness of the Unrest work, but it is sweet to listen to."[11]
Legacy
editTime Out considered the album cover to be one of the 40 best of the 1990s.[19] "Seabird" was covered by Maria Somerville for the 2021 4AD compilation Bills & Aches & Blues.[20]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Hate Milk" | |
| 2. | "World Cup Fever" | |
| 3. | "Seabird" | |
| 4. | "Special Angel" | |
| 5. | "Afternoon Train" | |
| 6. | "Dolphin Expressway" | |
| 7. | "Sweet as a Candy Bar" | |
| 8. | "You Sweet Little Heartbreaker" | |
| 9. | "Neely" | |
| 10. | "Bubble Shield" | |
| 11. | "The Event Horizon" | |
| 12. | "Definitely Beachy" | |
| 13. | "Reprise" |
References
edit- ^ Daley, David (May 31, 1996). "me. me. me". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ "Air Miami Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "An Expected Poke in the Ribs from Air Miami". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (5 Oct 1995). "Star-Packed Week Coming". Rhythm. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 8.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. pp. 83–84.
- ^ a b "Air Miami's Flights of Fancy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ a b Yockel, Michael (September 14, 1995). "Nightclub Jitters – Something in the Air". Columns. Miami New Times.
- ^ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. October 10, 1995. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ a b "Me, Me, Me". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ a b "Music Reviews". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 15.
- ^ Sherr, Sara (Oct 15, 1995). "Pop". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G6.
- ^ Stevens, Andy (Sep 1, 1995). "Air Miami, me. me. me". Good Times!. Press & Sun-Bulletin. p. 4.
- ^ a b Huston, Johnny (Nov 1995). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 11, no. 8. pp. 120–121.
- ^ a b Ross, Curtis (December 29, 1995). "Air Miami, Me. Me. Me". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
- ^ "Unrest". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Allread, Walter (9 Nov 1995). "Unrest never sleeps; Air Miami takes off". The Post and Courier. p. D19.
- ^ Hampel, Paul (22 Nov 1995). "me. me. me". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 9.
- ^ "The best album covers of the 90s". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (March 10, 2021). "4AD Preps Covers Compilation Featuring the Breeders, Future Islands, Big Thief". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.