Shake the Sheets

Half a listen in to Shake the Sheets, Ted Leo's new album, I was a bit disappointed. I thought it was decent, but this is Ted Leo, and decent isn't good enough. What the album lacked, I thought, was that song that makes you have to go back, like "Under the Hedge" and "Timorous Me" on Tyranny of Distance or "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?" or "Ballad of the Sin-Eater" on Hearts of Oak.

Of course, Ted and the Pharmacists didn't let me down, but the standout track isn't "Mia and Me," the one everyone's raving about; instead it's "Bleeding Powers." The song's catchy as anything on the disc, and the lyrics are perfect weave of the political and the personal. It's both a cry for union and a plea for continued struggle. It's flanked by the title track and "Walking to Do," another strong number, making this album one of the rare ones that ends with its strongest moments.

I still don't think Sheets is as good as his previous full-lengths with this band, but I probably like it more than the quite-enjoyable Chisel albums and about as much as last year's solo EP.