SLCene Suggests: Aimee Mann at The State Room

AIMEE MANN, THE STATE ROOM, Saturday, Oct. 6, 9 p.m. & Sunday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m., $35

A million or so years ago, when Aimee Mann was the rat-tail haircut-sporting lead singer of relatively forgettable pop band ‘Til Tuesday, there was no way to predict that she would go on to become a critically adored songwriter with an incisive lyrical style that few current songwriters can match. Her latest release, Charmer, is a return to her poppy roots of sorts–she namechecks the Cars, Blondie and Split Enz as inspirations for the warm synth and guitar-heavy production on the album. The title track is one of my favorites songs of the past few months–check out the video below. And if you manage to get tickets, be sure to arrive on time to check out openers Field Report, a band with serious buzz who was in town recently to open for Counting Crows. The band’s self-titled debut arrived in September, inspiring Time magazine to name them one of “11 great bands you don’t know (but should).”