The Loons "Love's Dead Leaves" 1999

Produced by Soundtrack of Our Lives' Ebbot Lundberg, this San Diego quartet comprises former members of the Tell-Tale Hearts and the Hoods. With Lundberg's Euro overdubs, the end result is an ambitious melding of a fuzz trio with vocalist, backwards tape loops, sitar, harpsichord, harmonium and various keyboards into a very different approach to power punk music with a psychedelic bent to it. Highlights include "Paradise," "Paint It Gold" and "Insecurity Smasher." ~ Cub KodaIf your like the Howlin' One, more often than not you find great disappointment when listening to any modern band that proclaims to be a garage band. If it isn't thinly veiled hard core punk played by greasers with tatoos and chain wallets, it's purist b.s. by a bunch of fools that think all music exists only in the year 1966. Well, if these are frustrations you feel as well, here is the perfect perscription to help wash all that crap away. The Loons, led by chief Ugly Thing Mike Stax, deliver a sound that is the perfect hybrid of introspective "Forever Changes" era Love and "Sorrow" era Pretties. Sprinkle on top some slabs of nasty nuggetesque punk and you got all the bases covered. Now despite the heavy influence of the previously mentioned bands, this is by no means a copycat record. These guys have some brilliant originality and I don't think they are really confused about what decade the currently live in. This music is modern and fresh just as it is classic and timeless. This is the best Lp that GetHip has released in years! I had almost given up on that label entirely but this release, along with the Conqueors and Mr. Zero releases of last year have kept the flame burning for a bit longer. Cheers to Mr. Stax and co. for churning out this brilliant Lp and let's hope for more and any chance to catch it live. - amazonThe Loons:
Mike Stax (vocals, harmonica); Eric Bacher (guitar); Ebbot Lundberg (acoustic guitar, slide guitar, autoharp, sitar, piano, harpsichord, harmonium, drums, background vocals); Martin Hederos (harpsichord, organ); Len Curiel (organ, drums); John Chilson (drums, percussion); Kalle Gustafsson (percussion); Gary Strickland (background vocals)

trax:
01 Insecurity smasher 02 Paradise 03 Paint it gold 04 Silver Threads 05 Thurday's child 06 Not the same girl 07 Never enough 08 Flying up into the floor 09 Ballroom of the unawake 10 Face out of phase 11 16 story reflection 12 Another mile away