Sleeper: Pleased To Meet You

In the incestuous, snippy world of British rock, Sleeper lead singer Louise Wener incited controversy several years ago by endorsing such taboo activities as eating meat and having sex. Fortunately for the faint of heart, Sleeper's new Pleased To Meet You largely steers clear of such controversial sentiments, and can simply be enjoyed as the fine collection of pop songs it is. Though tracks like "Superclean" make it sound like Wener—who has mostly taken over the band's songwriting duties—spent most of the time between this release and 1996's The It Girl listening to Garbage and Elastica, most of Pleased To Meet You consists of the sort of solid, occasionally great Brit-pop that too often gets ignored in the U.S. "She's A Good Girl," "Romeo Me," and "You Got Me" are stand-outs, thanks in large part to crisp production by Stephen Street. Pleased To Meet You is always listenable, while some tracks, notably "Motorway Man," contain musical notions that suggest future greatness. That's assuming, of course, that Wener doesn't isolate too many potential fans by making the mistake of drinking alcohol in public, or committing other such faux pas.