Having done a considerate and close-to-comprehensive restoration job of The Lemonheads and solo Evan Dando back catalogue — from both indie and major label eras — over a number of years, the folks at Fire Records have now taken on a bigger challenge. That is, facilitating the release of a decent quality Lemonheads album of all-new material. One to belatedly follow and improve upon 2006’s somewhat immemorable eponymous Lemonheads LP and a pair of in-between times curate’s egg covers collections, whilst contending with Dando’s extra-curricular distractions.
Thankfully for us and them, Love Chant proves to be a hiatus-ending set that proffers more than many would expect at this later career stage. Perhaps the self-reflection involved in writing his near-simultaneously dispensed Rumours Of My Demise memoir and the friendly reception to aforesaid archival outings has encouraged Dando to conscientiously make up for lost time by upping his long-parked ante. Whatever the root inspiration, it’s good to finally have a new suite of Lemonheads songs that remind us why the faith has been kept over the years.
This isn’t to say that this is a long-player on par with It’s A Shame About Ray, Come On Feel The Lemonheads or the underrated solo-billed Baby I’m Bored, but Love Chant is a highly likeable and – above all — consistently listenable long-player in own right that extant fans won’t feel short-changed by.
Hence, there are notable guest playing and/or co-writing spots from the likes of John Strohm (Blake Babies), Juliana Hatfield (Blake Babies, Ray-era Lemonheads, longtime solo trader, et al), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond) and Tom Morgan (Smudge), as well as some reliable studio coordination from veteran producer Bryce Goggin, to lend proceedings some dynamic vitality.
From it all emerges an eclectic virtuous compost of what can make Dando’s primary vehicle so warmly enjoyable. Very much a collection with a characterful vinyl side A and B presentation, we’re also taken on distinctly divergent rides across the eleven gathered tracks. Consequently, the topside opens in refreshingly brisk fashion, with the joyously sprinting ensemble singalong of the not-quite-accurately-titled “58 Second Song”. Thereafter, we’re spun through the low-slung boogie of “Deep End”; the hard-jangling “In The Margin” and “Wild Thing”; the wispy psych-rocking “Be In”; and the charmingly choogling harmony-topped “Cell Phone Blues”.The flipside delivers an even greater range of heterogenous attractions. Thus, we’re spun through the loveably languid yet frazzling haziness of “Togetherness Is All I’m After”; oblique art-funking via “Marauders”; rubbery VU-goes-motorik chugging for the title track; gorgeous campfire strum and bongos balm on “The Key Of Victory”; and warped lysergic wigging-out across the closing “Roky”.
Clocking in at a mere thirty-six minutes, Love Chant certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome, which means inviting it back for repeat airings is not hard to do. Although it won’t catapult Dando back to crossover celebrity status — which is arguably a good thing — Love Chant is a commendable regeneration for The Lemonheads, one that hopefully won’t take quite so long to spawn a sequel.-Adrian-
