the loved ones - distractions ep

3 february 2009 - fat wreck chords

(the loved covers?)

philadelphia punk band, the loved ones, released what i'd like to think of as a filler ep while i wait for their next lp last tuesday. distractions features three new songs along with three covers all of which can be heard streaming on the bands myspace. at a glance, i was excited to hear the loved ones' interpretation of three classic songs by three artists who are known worldwide as legends. the first cover is johnny 99 by bruce springsteen. both springsteen and loved ones' singer/guitarist dave hause choose to go solo on the song. and while hause's vocals do a great deal of justice to this ominous song the distorted reverb of the guitar takes me away from the story that bruce captures. the second song covered on distractions is lovers town revisited. a short lil ditty by billy bragg. going against the original on this track by bringing in the full band to blow through the seventy-five second song. its just too short of a song for me to even critique the song. the drums add a new dimension but the guitars aren't attempting anything new or unique and vocals don't even stray from the original save one moment at the beginning of the third verse. the last cover on distractions is coma girl by joe strummer and the mescaleros. this selection is my personal favorite. coma girl ends coming across as the most original of the covers on the ep. the band has minimal involvement with the song. a tambourine here a soft guitar line there no discernible bass. the song by the late, founder of punk pioneers the clash would be proud of the loved ones discernment of his song.

the three primary songs on the album are obviously the new material being put forth. all three songs, distracted, last call and spy diddley, are wonderful to listen too. last call, has a great piano line in the chorus and organ pulling the bridge together adding new depth to the bands sound. while spy is, what can be perceived as a, straight forward punk rock song.

i personally prefer the first three songs over the latter three, but each song has its place. i foresee this as the start of a creative year for the loved ones and i don't have to wait ages and ages for a long play album to come out. (and i hope that last call makes onto the full-length...maybe a little reworking of the track? a new mix? or mayhaps they'll just scrap the entire recording and do it all over again?).