6 June 2006

Ladyhawk (self titled), Jagjaguwar 2006

          During my elementary school years, I listened to a whole shitload of adult contemporary.  Flip the radio on at 7 AM and go to class only to head right back to it as soon as I got home.  Oh, how I wish Ladyhawk had been there.  They would have given me that nice little pull right after a good run-through  of the Spin Doctors.  "The Dugout" seems almost fit to run with that format at times, but it's got that extra special pull of Dinosaur Jr. guitar noodling that elevates it to a whole different level.  Even the lyrics pop out with that wondrous lameness of car rides with Deep Blue.  It's hard not to love the cheese of  "Please tell me the truth of your heart / Please tell me" or "Let me tell you a dream I had / I was down at the baseball diamond".  Don't get me wrong this is a good thing.  The album hardly feels watered down, but instead like someone spiked the punch.  The first three songs punch through like the best catch of those alternative crossover circa mid-90's.
    Around the fourth track though, it seems like the band seems a little bit disgusted with themselves.  It almost feels as if their frat brother caught 'em boning a fatty and they reached for the nearest skanky cutie possible.  The album quickly (and I do mean quickly) veers into college rock safety with a Pink Mountaintops-ish run-through of "Long 'til Morning".   It's fitting given the album gets some help from the Black Mountain family.  While Ladyhawk does give the sound a bit more zeal and glorious noodling, it does seem a bit sad.  Come on, we won't all judge.  Show a bit of that flair and give us a good kick in the music critic pants.
    Somewhere around "Teenage Love Song", the band makes it back to the start with a furious edge.  The same sound but at this point a few too many drinks into the night.  And it's amazing again.  Velveeta with razorblades, I love it.  Plus an extra little bit of howling guitar.  I wish the album worked a little bit better cohesively.  The middle, while great, drags the whole thing down.  B-side material.  It's a great first record and I hope they go down that sternly different (slightly indy inappropriate path) with their future. 

-Graham Culbertson
General Manager