From Frank Tantillo - May 1997
Part of the recent alternative rock market correction, the Gigolo Aunts are back on an independent after their last album, 1994's Flippin' Out was released by RCA records.
Listening to Learn to Play Guitar one can sort of understand why the band was issued a rain-check for their ticket for the Big Time. On first listen the band sounds like just another Gin Blossomy bunch. Closer inspection reveals that these songs hang together well on their own despite their surface sonic similarity to other bands.
The disk opens with the serviceable power-pop of "Kinda Girl," but quickly gets more interesting, with many of the tracks such as "Sway," "Rocking Chair" and "The Sun Will Rise Again" sounding quite similar to Michael Penn, both vocally and musically.
The latter song in particular exhibits the Gigolo Aunts' talents. It starts off with a few measures of standard rock guitar but quickly dissolves into a beautifully unsettling acoustic ballad filled with great vocal harmonies. If the Aunts can follow up with a full album worth of songs of this caliber they'll soon get their invitation back to the Majors.