Love

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Cold War Classics Vol. 2 LP by Alabama 3. Before anyone gets nervous about what they might have missed, it’s important to point out that Cold War Classics is not the first Alabama 3 album to feature the erroneous numeric identifier Volume 2 (2002’s acoustic experiment Last Train to Mashville was listed as a Volume 2 as well – although there was no “Part 1” in that case either) – they’ve...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Ramones In Love LP by Kepi Ghoulie. No matter how open-minded listeners might be, some albums are simply intent on challenging their audience’s expectations – and Kepi Ghoulie’s Ramones In Love is definitely one of those. First, while the idea of an artist presenting their own interpretations of Ramones songs is not new, the idea of presenting a series of Ramones love songs is decidedly unique. This album marks the first...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the I Love You and I’m Sorry LP by Jacob Brodovsky. I started trying to write a review of Jacob Brodovky’s debut album, I Love You and I’m Sorry, six times before finally electing to do what the album does and just opening with a bit of candor: on my first play through the album, I was absolutely blown away. I knew I liked it, all I had to do was find...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Love I Bring” b/w “My Cat is on Prozac” split 7” single by Sic & Mad and The Slackers. There’s little doubt that this review will sound dismissive – such is the most common byproduct of a release which isn’t very good. Now, it’s true that the governing wisdom in the music industry has always been that, “They can’t all be genius,” and that may be true – but basic quality...

The Melvins A Walk With Love & Death   What can be said about a band like the Melvins at this point? With a catalog that’s as strange as it is expansive, plunging into this band’s music can seem like a daunting task. But, the more you do, the more you come to appreciate the Melvins’ greatness. You either get it or you don’t. As Krist Novoselic himself said (I believe), they’re the only band of their era still out...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the “Goodbye Love” LP by Dirty Fences. After taking four years to let their sound season with the help of regular touring and new releases (it’s really easy to chart the development Dirty Fences has undergone between their debut album, Too High To Kross, and their sophomore effort, Full Tramp), there’s no question in listening to “Goodbye Love” that the band has arrived and are ready to take over the world. This...

Murray McLauchlan Love Can’t Tell Time (True North Records) When your body of work spans nineteen albums released over a 46-year period, it’s obvious that your love affair with music is a lifelong one. Such is really the only way it could be possible to take Love Can’t Tell Time, Murray McLauchlan’s newest release – by the singer’s own admission, the album is, “A great collection of songs I love to play when I have no other agenda than just...

If you see enough “rock n’ roll” movies, eventually you begin to realize that there are always a few key points that are totally unbelievable: the best bands came from nothing (and a lot of them started by accident); their rise to greatness really begins at the moment the hardworking group sticks it to the man and starts doing things their own way, they reach a pinnacle of appeal and creative power at roughly the same time or immediately before...