I was never a big fan of The Bangles. I liked a few songs, such as “Going Down To Liverpool,” a lot, but mostly they were a little better than okay.

But a couple days ago, a friend turned me on to Doll Revolution, which came out in 2003 though I hadn’t heard anything about it. And probably most people missed it, which is why I am writing this. It’s by far the best Bangles album I have heard, and one of the best albums I’ve heard in several months—and I’ve heard a lot of new music recently.

I’ll just quote from the Amazon editorial review, which I think got it mostly right:

…Eloquent, assured, and sensual, Doll Revolution is measured yet mesmerizing, considered yet colossal. This is one 80s comeback that really is a good idea…. The Bangles never were ones for manifestos. Melodies are more their game, and these mostly self-penned songs display a beautifully developed sense of songcraft…. [T]he sublime West Coast harmonies of "Stealing Rosemary" is a reminder that the quartet originally began life, 20 years prior, as Paisley Underground psychedelics named the Supersonic Bangs…. And the yearning "Single by Choice," glancing back over a life half-done, is both a shoo-in for the soundtrack of the next Bridget Jones movie and also a knowing, experience-heavy poem that they simply couldn't have crafted the first time around. The Bangles have returned older but wiser and there is, as Doll Revolution amply demonstrates, simply no substitute for experience. --Ian Gittins

I did slightly prefer the Continental Drifters’ version of Vicki Peterson’s “Mixed Messages” to the new one, but that’s probably just because I’m used to the older version. That’s the closest thing to a quibble I can come up with so far.

I’m going to have a busy weekend, so I’ll just wish the six of you who actually read this drivel a very pleasant time, and we’ll talk again soon, okay?