Music reviewer Jane Holloway's guts are, unfortunately, perfectly fine.

Artist: Aimee Mann
Album: The Forgotten Arm

Intended as a concept album, Mann narrates the relationship of a retired boxer and some chick. Do I even have to tell you that he's a drug addict? So Mann does stick with addiction, what seems to be a popular theme among her past three albums. Despite the familiar subject matter, it seems as if those astringent, literary quips characteristic of all her past records are in short supply. For the most part. "The Forgotten Arm" is more languid and serious, devoid of the punchy, smirk-inducing phrases of previous albums. Those really hooked you. Now it's just unadulterated melancholy, mostly (with a touch of pain); a frank account of addiction. So she sacfriced her biting lyrics for some equally catchy, exponentially more straight-faced fare that's just as literary and half as witty. Big deal. "The Forgotten Arm" is truly durable; the story gradually coalesces with each listen and as usual, it's a strong record.Standout tracks include "Video", "I Can't Get My Head Around It", and "Beautiful." This time she crosses further into ballad territory with "King of the Jailhouse" and "That's How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart." These tracks are mighty slow but never painfully so. The record maintains Mann's typical tight, simple-yet-rich songwriting craft coupled with a few memorable, quasi-country guitar lines and some nice, pounding piano and bass throughout. "The Forgotten Arm" has got it's hooks but these ones just don't rip your guts out completely. B+