The Lemonheads – Love Chant (Fire Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
The Lemonheads, well Evan Dando, darling of the 90s alt-music scene, witty, romantic, and a notorious scallywag has hit the return key, as he delivers the first Lemonheads (proper) album in 19 years – Love Chant.
Recorded in Brazil, where Dando resides with his wife (and three adult stepchildren), alongside Dando, it features two compadres in crime Farley Glavin (Constant smiles) – Bass, Guitar and John Kent (Radish) – Drums, as well a mass of guest musicians including Juliana Hatfield and J Mascis.
Love Chant kicks off with a lie. 58 Second Song, is much longer than 58 seconds, and with its falsetto start, lulls before it launches into an upbeat melodic alt-punk ballad, twinged with country and vocal harmonies, it’s reminiscent of past glories for sure. Fast following is the song that features Juliana Hatfield and J Mascis – Deep End, another pacey guitar riffed reflection on life, J Mascis’s lead guitar work finesses formidibly, and quickly following up In The Margin, like Deep End, one of the four advance teaser tracks, is shift, much punkier, riff full, as much personal, possibly unrequited love?
Eleven songs in total, many coconstructed by Dando with others, as Glavin and Kent focussed on the hard yard. As the album deepens, variety, and the collaborations bear fruit in the differing dynamics of each song. Cellphone Blues (another track featuring Juliana Hatfield) captures the joy of The Lemonheads in past glories. As does Togetherness Is All I’m After, co-penned and performed on by past Lemonheads member John Strohm (Creator, Come on Feel the Lemonheads), it’s an emotional ballad, gayly featuring Dando’s dulcet vocal tones. The title track Love Chant, exclusively written by Dando is a paced, blues and country tinged racer, amplified by shards of harsh punkish guitar, it exudes revitalisation, perhaps it is the metaphor song on the album?
Enough said, my anticipation of Love Chant was fragile, given Dando’s affinity to chaos and perchance, however Love Chant has been carefully, meticulously scribed and recorded. The rich heterogeneity of the songs, all within the realm of expectations (of what a Lemonheads song should sound like) delivers an album of joy, Love Chant is an album that sweeps away all rumours of Dando’s and The Lemonheads demise.
Simon Coffey
Love Chant is out October 24th on Fire Records. Pre-order Love Chant
