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ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC

Essential New Music: Bash & Pop’s “Anything Could Happen”

This Tommy Stinson-fronted outfit’s only previous record, 1993’s Friday Night Is Killing Me, was generally well-received, if not a big seller, but it’s questionable as to whether there was much demand for a sequel given the passage of time. After all, the former Replacements bassist quickly moved on to another group (Perfect) before releasing a number of solo LPs, serving an unlikely stint in Guns N’ Roses and embarking on perhaps an even more improbable Mats reunion. Yet here we are 24 years later, and Stinson has resurrected Bash & Pop—the name, anyway, as he’s the only returnee—for a follow-up. Damn if it wasn’t worth the wait. Anything Could Happen is full of similarly winning Friday Night-ish bar-band power pop (“On The Rocks,” “Never Wanted To Know,” the title track) and the sardonic Minnesotan wit Stinson shares with his on-again/off-again cohort Paul Westerberg. There’s a heavy country/Americana influence throughout Anything Could Happen, perhaps greater than expected, though Friday Night did have a bit of that as well; enjoyable twangy shuffles like the opening “Not This Time,” “Breathing Room” and “Anytime Soon” dominate. It’s a direction that suits Stinson rather well. Musically, he’s lived in Westerberg’s considerable shadow since the day the latter forced his way into the seminal combo fronted by Stinson’s brother Bob. With Anything Could Happen, Stinson not only shows that Bash & Pop 2.0 has potential staying power but also that he’s worthy of comparisons to his mentor.

—Matt Hickey