The Night Undoes the Work of the Day

While the music of The Night Undoes the Work of the Day is in a fairly straight-ahead slightly alternative rock mold, the lyrical sentiments of this set are pretty grim. Images of quiet despair are abundant, whether joyless train and bus rides, regret over failed relationships, or reaching out for romance with cautions about personal weaknesses that seem likely to scare off many potential partners. Billy O'Neill, co-writer of most of the material with keyboardist Ig, sings the material with a chin-up wary sternness. More keyboard-based than much such rock, it's likely to be something of a bringdown if you're not in tune with such downbeat moods, in spite of the obvious sincerity of the compositions. "My Juliet" stands out from the batch in its effective arrangement, consisting primarily of moody, almost doomy splotches of keyboards.