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Artist: Lovedrug
URL: www.myspace.com/lovedrug
Label: The Militia Group
Time: 12 Tracks 51:27
Let’s begin this review with a little story. You are driving along on this highway near a city we call Christian Music when suddenly you come upon a sign that says “Dark Side Blvd. Use Exit 45”. If you were to come upon this sign, I guarantee Lovedrug would be one of the bands that resided on that street in that part of town.
These guys feature a lot of very dark and vague lyrical themes in their brand of hard-nosed piano and guitar-drenched rock. There are lots of thought provoking lyrics here, and it does help to look at the lyric sheets, as lead vocalist Michael Shepherd occasionally buries his vocals amongst loud distorted guitars.
A lot of sad themes from the dark part of our Christian Faith are here. “Happy Apple Poison” appears to me to be a reference to original sin in the Garden of Eden.
“Casino Clouds” talks about a man who has come to the end of his life and realized how much he wasted it, with some heavy hitting lyrics:
If these are the black gates of Hell,
Then I’m sorry for the life I’ve wasted so,
I forgot to fall in love,
I forgot to call on the keystone clan,
I’ll never get to be a man at all
“Ghost By Your Side” is another haunting anthem, this time appearing to be about spiritual warfare, with the ‘ghost’ in the song appearing to be a veiled reference to the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.
“Bleed Together” is a strong rock and roll tune with blistering guitar solos intertwined with some powerful lyrics about clinging to hope in trials:
You got it wrong, this isn’t right,“Doomsday and the Echo” features another awesome guitar solo in a song about how much our actions can hurt other people, while “Salt of the Earth” vaguely seems to discuss how much hypocrisy there is in the Christian community:
There’s something beautiful that hasn’t yet died,
Your clinging on to my misery, Your popularity smells,
So fire who wants an enemy,
Stand up and raise your hands,
Hate’s not the answer,
When love’s on demand
There’s suits in love with their own poises,"American Swimming Lesson” is the song that allows the band to show off their musical tightness yet again, with some perfect instrumentation.
Hypocrites with no more voices,
Corporate cowards with no more choices,
This is dangerous, this is dangerous I can’t hide,
Your danger eyes, I can’t hide,
Your death selection.
The closing track and title track last for over seven minutes and revisits the Holy Ghost theme again. This song builds up in intensity, and the lyrics build into a powerfully hopeful chorus about never giving up on someone: “Wake Up! Your alive, We’re on your side”
Overall here we have one of the finest rock and roll albums I’ve heard in probably two years. I seriously recommend you give this one multiple listens, because you simply cannot fully grasp how strong of an album this is until you have fully allowed yourself to soak it all in. The themes of these twelve songs are dark, yet they all seem to have one theme that runs through all of them. That theme is Love, and Love that is unconditional and never changing. As we are celebrating this Easter season, there is nothing more important for us to remember. That is the reason for this season we are celebrating. It is because of God’s love for us, and the Sacrifice of Jesus that we can live, and Lovedrug help remind us of that, even if it is in a vague and different way!
James Morovich
4/7/07
