Bed Juliana Hatfield (Zoe) Reviewed by Alec Foege

Before Alanis Morissette and Liz Phair, there was Hatfield, alternative rock's prototypical angry young woman. Tough but sweet, she cultivated a devoted following as a singer, songwriter and bass player for the Blake Babies in Boston in the late '80s and early '90s. The standout tracks on this, her fourth full-length solo album (on which she plays guitar and keyboards), highlight what she does best: innocent songs about stormy relationships. Trouble is, the once precocious singer hasn't progressed much, either lyrically or musically, beyond her signature outraged stance. Hatfield can still wield her girlish voice like a stiletto, as she does on "Sneaking Around," a rage-filled account of an adulterous fling, but the song's snide lyrics and languid arrangement don't cut nearly as deep. It's as if Hatfield were still upset with a lover whose name she can't recall, or as she sings on "Bad Day," "I made my bed all by myself/Now I don't sleep in it so well." Bottom Line: strong talent sleepwalks. 1