Dave Hause did what I could never have done. He left Paint It Black. But he went on to form another absolutely splendid band. The Loved Ones‘ last record, Build and Burn, was an absolute gem of an album. Their strongest so far. So, when Paul sent me this for review, I knew it would be something from a good band near the top of their game. It’s 6 tracks and meant as a stop-gap between albums – it’s 3 of their own then 3 covers.
What I noticed about their own new tunes on here is that they are little more, well, soft in direction. More of a nod to their obvious Americana influences – the fact that there is a Bruce Springsteen cover on here merely emphasizes that they must have been listening to his stuff a lot when they were in the studio. The tunes are still decent – if not quite up there with Build and Burn.
The Springsteen cover itself is the weak point on the record. Like their offering on the recent Johnny Cash tribute, they seem to lose themselves a bit when they go covering a song they clearly adore. Their Billy Bragg cover (Lovers Town Revisited) makes them sound a lot more at home. But they save the best for last – a great cover of Strummer’s ‘Coma Girl’. Interesting that they attempt three tracks by three legendary musicians.
This EP is not going to set the world on fire – it’s not a patch on the last album, but it’s no massive departure in sound, and will keep mouths watering for the new record proper. Plus, a batch of covers always gets the interest up. My only real criticism is this is the sound of a band who know they can’t write a bad tune at the moment, going through the motions a bit too much. Just a bit mind. And after all, isn’t that what stop-gap EPs are for?
Mike