Aimee Mann's rich catalogue is rife with coulda-been-hits that combine her songwriting mastery with her sullen voice and tastefully ornate arrangements. Her upper register adds heat to the admonishments of “Stupid Thing”; swooning backing vocals and buried-in-the-mix guitars cushion the emotional blows of “The Fall of the World's Own Optimist.” Mann's lyrical miserabilism balances with her craft in a way that gives even her saddest songs a hooky charm.