and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Experience has weathered Tennant with a resigned warmth that extends far beyond "West End Girls." Marr holds back the bombast that has hindered his solo career, and there is nothing here that is vaguely "ironic," a tag that has plagued the Pets. Even "The Night I Fell in Love" -- in which the narrator wakes up next to a surprisingly polite performer who seems to be modeled on Eminem -- is delivered with wide-eyed wistfulness. For this sweet love hangover, these grown-up romantics don't need a cure.

BARRY WALTERS
(April 23, 2002)