Just Kidding is a fair slice of early-'90s Northwest rock, typifying the grunge-related indie rock of the region during that era; in retrospect, however, the band is most interesting as one of
Doug Martsch's first projects (before the frequently brilliant work of
Built to Spill and his collaboration with
Calvin Johnson in
the Halo Benders).
Just Kidding, unfortunately, is likely to disappoint those who look to it as an extension of
Martsch's work -- his songwriting on the record is somewhat minimal, and it reflects few of the signature sounds that would go into his work with
Built to Spill. This leaves
Just Kidding somewhere in the land of lost records -- it's solid and appealing rock, and few complaints can be made about its construction, but it's also the most typically Northwestern of the band's albums, and doesn't offer much innovation on that particular vein of rock. ~ Nitsuh Abebe