| Melting in the Dark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Studio | Fort Apache Studios [1] | |||
| Genre | Rock, alternative rock | |||
| Label | Zero Hour [2] | |||
| Producer | Steve Wynn | |||
| Steve Wynn chronology | ||||
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Melting in the Dark is an album by the American musician Steve Wynn, released in 1996. [3] [4] It was recorded with a band consisting of all the members of Come. [5] Wynn supported the album by touring with a backing band that included members of Gutterball, Zuzu's Petals, and Love Tractor. [6]
Shortly before making the record, bassist Sean O'Brien and drummer Arthur Johnson quit Come, making this album's recording sessions the last time the original lineup of Come recorded together. [7] [8] Come was more familiar with Wynn's Dream Syndicate work, which in turn influenced the writing and sound of Melting in the Dark. [9] [10] The musicians rehearsed for a day before recording for four days. [11] [12] "Shelley's Blues, Pt. 2" alludes to Mike Nesmith's "Some of Shelly's Blues". [13]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [14] |
| Calgary Herald | [15] |
| Chicago Tribune | [16] |
| Los Angeles Times | [17] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [18] |
Trouser Press wrote: "Although something of a return to the Dream Syndicate’s savage guitar-frenzy, the album is flightier, with dry, laconic vocals, jauntily aggressive tempos and a joyous garage-crud vibe that suggests it was a lot of fun to make." [19] The Chicago Tribune called the album "spare, free-swinging rock studded with sharp hooks." [16] The Orlando Sentinel deemed it "tense but not humorless rock." [18]
Rolling Stone noted that "Come's clamor seems out of place next to Wynn's uninspired retrorock drawl." [20] The Calgary Herald concluded that "Wynn remains an unheralded anti-hero, a rocker who's never been a pretender and shoulda been a contender." [15] The Los Angeles Times determined that "it's at the midway point that Wynn's seething tales of bad love catch fire." [17]
