Artist bio

Letters To Cleo burst into one-hit-wonderdom when the tongue-twister-chorused "Here And Now" plopped off the "Melrose Place" soundtrack and onto MTV. The song was taken from the Boston quintet's de jure debut Aurora Gory Alice and actually did give a valid impression of the group's sound: uptempo power pop with flair and the distinctive cracked-honey vocals of Kay Hanley.

The group went on to release two more full albums in its short career: Wholesale Meats And Fish, which took on more of a guitar-heavy, acid-tinged sound than its predecessor, and Go!, which (though recorded without skinsman Stacy Jones, who left to try his hand in Veruca Salt) re-energized the group's sound.

Sister followed in 1998, collecting some covers and early versions of previously released songs alongside a handful of originals, but the group was losing steam. Hanley married guitarist Michael Eisenstein and soon began work on a solo album, to be released in 2002. And the music lived on happily ever after.

Albums by this artist

Go! (1997)

Wholesale Meats And Fish (1995)

Aurora Gory Alice (1993)

Letters To Cleo

Wholesale Meats And Fish

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» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

Letters To Cleo Wholesale Meats And Fish Giant, 1995 RiYL: Eve's Plum, Veruca Salt, Aimee Mann, Juliana Hatfield

Boston-based band Letters To Cleo, best known for the "Melrose Place" soundtrack single "Here And Now," came back in form with its sophomore effort Wholesale Meats And Fish. The disc contains 12 tracks of the band's New England power pop.

When the band's first disc Aurora Gory Alice was released in 1993, it received little critical or popular response. But including "Here And Now" on the soundtrack to the popular Aaron Spelling sitcom-drama helped Letters' record sales begin to pick up steam.

At that point, the band had already recorded Wholesale Meats And Fish but couldn't release the album yet because they had newfound popularity to deal with (a tour and video were put into motion). When it was finally released, Fish was revealed to be a solid effort, but not percieved as timely or important as the band's first record.

Letters To Cleo spent most of the time in between the recordings of both albums playing live shows. This is apparent on Wholesale Meats And Fish in a decidedly harder-edged sound to the music, reminiscent of Letters' live performances. Guitarists Michael Eisenstein and Greg McKenna have stepped up their roles and turned up the volume on their instruments this time around, while bassist Scott Riebling has been pushed farther down in the mix and is less audible.

Lyrically, Letters To Cleo doesn't seem intent on sending out an important message to its listeners. Much like Aurora Gory Alice, the lyrics are playful, with Kay Hanley's voice pulling heavy guitar riffs into pure pop melody. The song "Do What You Want, Yeah" is distinguished by the entire lyric of the song being the title. On first single "Awake," Hanley croons "You're awake and I'm asleep and we are so complete that way."

Whatever.

Wholesale Meats And Fish doesn't break any new musical ground, but it is far from a sophomore slump for Letters To Cleo. The band rocks harder than it had in the past, but retains pop pureness and continues to entertain.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.