This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Normally, I subscribe to the theory of Inverse Album-Title Relativity — that is, the longer and more pretentious the handle, the crappier the music. Bay Area alt-rock foursome Creeper Lagoon may force me to rethink.
Yes, the handle of their debut major-label album Take Back the Universe and Give me Yesterday sounds like something Billy Corgan would whine. But hey, at least their music shows they mean every word. These 13 tracks completely ignore contemporary pop, rap and metal trends for the swirly pop melancholy and rough-hewn melodicism of post-Cobain alt-rock. The ringing guitars and soaring, yearning vocals of tracks like Wrecking Ball and Dead Man Saloon remind you of everyone from Camper Van Beethoven and The Dandy Warhols to late-model Replacements. OK, so it isn’t butt-kicking, head-banging rock. But as head-nodding fare goes, it should do just nicely. At least, that’s my theory.
