Love & Affliction

Consonant | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 19, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Fenway Recordings
• ASIN: B0000A59WO
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,608 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Little Murders

2. Dumb Joy

3. Lost Together

4. Mysteries of the Holiday Camp

5. Hell-Blonde

6. She's Driving Fast

7. Cauldron

8. Are You Done?

9. Cry

10. Night for Love

11. Blue Story

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Second album not quite as good as the first., August 29, 2003

By 

cplewis "cplewis" (Merrifield, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Love & Affliction (Audio CD)

"Love and Affliction" is the follow-up to last year's phenomenal self-titled debut for Consonant -- Clint Conley (Mission of Burma), Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine), Matt Kadane (The New Year, Bedhead), and Winston Braman (Fuzzy). Although this album feels like a more well-rounded group effort than the first one, "Love and Affliction" just doesn't have the energy that "Consonant" had, and the band never seems just to rock out. The album is still good, though -- tracks like "Mysteries of the Holiday Camp" and "Are You Done?" are stellar and capture the band's energy and enthusiasm.

Overall recommendation: If you liked "Consonant", you'll definitely enjoy parts of this album. If you're just starting to find out about the band, then their self-titled debut is probably a better place to start out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lackluster "Love", September 7, 2003

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Love & Affliction (Audio CD)

Rockers and a poet -- what's not to love? In Consonant's sophomore album, "Love & Affliction," there's quite a bit. While it's not actually bad, the album lacks energy and sizzle that would make it worthwhile. The best description is lackluster.

It springs off with the steady "Little Murders" ("You stay, I'll go/I'll show it wasn't me"), and spirals into the bouncy rocker "Dumb Joy," the unexciting "Lost Together," the fun and catchy "Mysteries of the Summer Camp," the well-orchestrated but rather dull "Hell-Blonde," the outright boring "She's Driving Fast," the uneven "Cry," and sputtering rock "Blue Story"

One of the problems with "Love & Affliction is the lack of hooks. few of the songs snagged me and drew me in, with some exceptions like "Mysteries of the Summer Camp." The lyrics are fairly ordinary, having some high points but also some very bland I-was-half-asleep-when-I-wrote-this wording.

The instrumentation is well-done, but a bit monotonous; I had trouble remembering afterwards which songs were which. And the vocals, not strong to start with, are slightly scratchy at times, as if the lead vocalist was recovering from a sore throat and was unsure of himself.

Fans of the self-titled "Consonant" may find that the band's second album suffers from the feared sophomore slump. Like many a college band (which this album sounds like it was produced by, rather than experienced rockers), there's promise in this album, but no more than promise.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but monotonous, September 1, 2003

By 

Roland (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love & Affliction (Audio CD)

They use interesting chord changes, but the instrumentation is similar on every song, which leads to a monotonous effect. They sound like the typical college band -- earnest but not fully formed.