DISC
'N' DAT
by Larry Nager
****(4 out of 4 stars)
On his second self-produced CD, terminal romantic Roger Klug deals with love in a wide variety of guises. In the title song, a relationship gets compared to various forms of chemical waste. "Nothing Better" is the optimistic side of the coin, "I've tasted Haagen-Dazs, seen angels in their bras. Nothing is better than love."
That wordplay, together with the music's Beatle-esque touches, show the singer/songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist to be firmly in Cincinnati's neurotic-pop tradition of Adrian Belew and Rob Fetters. But he's got some wrinkles of his own -- the edgy, "nuevo tango" of "Things Change"; the Elvis Costello/Nick Lowe approach of "Thing Called Trust"; the McCartney-styled silly love song, "As You Lay Snoring Next To Me"; the '40's style swing of "Bim Bam Boom."
Don't miss this one. Toxic is a real breath of fresh air from a major local talent.
Cincinnati Enquirer, July 11, 1997