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I stumbled upon Lovedrug at Cornerstone last year and knew from the beginning that they were something special. With a couple of EPs (self-titled and Rock and Roll) under their belt, the band signed with The Militia Group despite interest from many major labels. I'm sure many people who think along the same lines as me breathed a sigh of thanks to the band that they chose a label who would let them hold on to their artistic integrity and not turn the band into a gigantic marketing beast. And so now here we are for the band's debut full-length album Pretend You're Alive. Needless to say, my hopes were high going into this one.

The first thing I noticed about the CD is that many of these songs (six of the total 13 to be exact) have been around for awhile. For a moment I worried that maybe the band was just being lazy. And then the music began and the worries were quickly resolved. And so the big question that you newbies are asking I'm sure is "what does Lovedrug sound like?" Well, imagine something along the lines of a Bends-era Radiohead mixed with Sunny Day Real Estate with a good dose of Coldplay. Now throw in some rock and roll attitude and one of the quirkiest singers to hit these ears in awhile and you've got Lovedrug. At least I think it's something like that.

The album opener "In Red" is probably not going to be the track that wins new listeners over. Strangely, I'd have to say it's the weakest track on the album. But just wait, the song builds to a nice crescendo with Michael Shepherd singing, "Fall inside of her now" and the music going crazy. Wait a couple seconds and enter the song "Black Out" which will easily vie for rock song of the year in my book. It's gruesome, but with a chorus that simply will not let up: "I'll save my life for something good / And When you're punching skulls on your bathroom floor / Does it get you off to know / That sometimes we all black out." Okay, so I was won over.

And then the album took another turn for the better with "Spiders," which begins with acoustic guitar before sinking into a chorus with a hook that digs in deep (you know, like the ones with the barbs on the end - maybe more like a lure). You might as well settle in because it's all good from here. We hear brilliant songs like "Down Toward the Healing" and "Angels with Enemies" butted up against beautiful / violent rockers like "Pandamoranda" and "The Monster." Perhaps the album's defining moment is the title track "Pretend You're Alive" as Shepherd sings, "Watch angels in the morning become a devil this afternoon / I will panic in the evening underneath the crashing moon / So fall in love while you can still hold your head up high / And pretend that you're alive again / It's friends that leave you in the end / So hold your head up high and pretend that you're alive again." Pessimistic? Sure. But the beauty of the song makes it pretty easy to stomach.

The album's conclusion works really well too with the seven minute rock ballad "It Won't Last" which crashes to a halt before the album ends on "Paper Scars" where Shepherd sings over sparse piano accompaniment, "My God how did we survive the paper scars? / Oh, bless my stars / You said you're sorry." The album's lyrics take a pretty dark, yet painstakingly honest look at life and at the end the listener comes out feeling more uplifted than depressed. How does that work? I'm not really sure, but that's just a little glimpse at the genius of Lovedrug.

Trae Cadenhead  8/8/2004