Customer Reviews

The Sucker Punch Show

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Unlike "Pretend Your Alive" and "Everything Starts Where it Ends", "Sucker Punch Show" is a rock-experiment roller coaster. You never know what will spill from Michael Shepard's mouth as he screams "you're a hole in my head/that's all that you are" or taunts with "you're the only one who cares about you" or speaks a man's truth, "say what you want to say, god is in the shape of a woman's body."

The music tests every one of your internal emotions starting with the quirky singsong vocals with "let it all out" bleeding into the simply truthful statement in "only one." Rolling next into the heaviest we've heard Lovedrug, the most rocking (possibly Muse sounding) songs yet. After you absorb that your actually listening to Lovedrug they roll into some of the familiar indie piano songs, still more edgy than we've heard, and close with the always epic ending song of "dying days." And you realize THIS is Lovedrug. THIS is their potiential and THIS is a great album to move forward with.

They fuse sex and angels, grace with a bucket of bones and the nubs of your cigaretteless fingers together with more ease and originality than any band has attempted without coming off as cheesy or forced. You can really admire and appreciate a band who's gone through so many member transitions and still manage to hold onto their roots while evolving with the new. Congrats Lovedrug, you've just produced something i was proud to pay for.

After being ecstatic to learn that they were coming out with a new record, I patrolled their myspace religiously to hear new tunes as soon as they came out.

Of the three songs they released, I only liked one. I was so disappointed, they had always had a grunge influenced sound, but always kept it indie and melodic enough to hold it at bay. Those two songs I didn't like were almost entirely grunge, and I was apprehensive that the whole album would be in that direction, seeing as those were the songs that the band decided to promote.

But after tentatively deciding to buy the album, I was VERY surprised and quite stoked at the entirety of the collection of songs. They haven't changed much, only grown. The production is great, the melodies are all still there, and the vocals are better than ever.

Perhaps not as good as Everything Starts Where It Ends or Pretend You're Alive, but still a great record.
So many songs to fall in love with, only a couple I feel like skipping. The end of the album returns to a very piano-based feel, while the rest keeps it a bit more uptempo.

Still Lovedrug.

The first time I witnessed Lovedrug was at a small, Christian festival back in 2004. They were just starting to record for their first album, "Pretend You're Alive". I was amazed with their music, and they have been my favorite band ever since. Pretend You're Alive was amazing. A few years later, they presented a darker, almost poppier "Everything Starts Where it Ends"; the album was a little disappointing in that it didn't have quite as many hits as PYA, but nonetheless it was still impressive and a mature step for Lovedrug.

Now the year is 2008, and Lovedrug has 'sucker punched' us with the musical talent of their latest debut. All I can say is "Wow". A few months ago the band deemed this album as a Rocker. I was a little scared, thinking they would break away from their soft, Indie roots, but from what it seems that comment was a little misleading. In this album we find the typical Lovedrug trend, with only about 2-3 Rocker songs (but, mind you, they are heavier than any of their other Rocker songs --- perhaps this is what they meant --- just listen to Everyone Needs a Halo ---) with the rest sounding like exactly what Lovedrug does best - calm, Indie rock. Surprisingly, there are less layers in this album than ESWIE, and the band goes back to simpler, piano sounds which are akin to PYA. Combine this wonderful musical skill with synth/layers and those bittersweet, mystic lyrics. Yep, that's right - this album will not disappoint nor bore. I think many longtime fans will find this a refreshment from ESWIE, especially for their old-school fans who adored PYA.

Maturity has rung true for the band here. Most bands get boring when they stick to their musical roots with little change for too longl. But it's exceptionally rare for a band to be good at it. Congratulations, Lovedrug.

5/5.

Lovedrug is one of the more exciting bands to emerge within the last few years. Their live shows are not to be missed, either. Possibly as a result of their popularity as an energetic live band, their ratio of ballads-per-album has steadily decreased. The change suits them; many songs on The Sucker Punch Show experiement with slower, softer, and more atmospheric textures while still having some drive and dynamics to 'em. The airy "Borrowed Legs" is a prime example of what I mean. A beautiful song at a steady clip, ending on a somewhat frantic note. They bring it up for the choruses without the pingponging of the nineties "soft-loud" cliche.

The guitarwork has deeper, more diverse textures than those of prior albums. Lots of droning synths and chiming, chorus-y guitars. The band commendably never let things get too busy. Bass, drums, and vocals are unprocessed and sit high in the mix, with a few simple guitar/synth ideas swirling around, typically feeding into a crunchy chorus.

Some of the lyrics even tend a bit toward misogynist swagger, such as in "Broken Home" and especially the pounding "Dirtiest Queen." It's best to consider them in context, though. There's a great deal of pain and confusion in TSPS's lyrics, the darkest set Lovedrug has yet offered up. A bit of lashing out is in keeping with the tone.

It's not quite perfect - The last four songs don't quite live up to the promise of the first eight. And for whatever eyebrow-raising reason, there are errors on the CD packaging (The song Fake Angels is misspelled, and the "Sucker Punch" in the title, a compound modifier, ought to be hyphenated). These are minor quibbles, though. Great album, well worth your money and well worth five stars.

Some of my favorite cd's are those that I don't initially enjoy. They present something new, something unheard and I have no basis for a solid reaction. The Sucker Punch Show was something like that for me.

The music wasn't necessarily ground breaking but it was quite a departure for Lovedrug (although not a shocking departure from Everything Starts...). It was edgier, louder, and more angst-ridden. These elements all springing from what seems to me to be a longing for the "something more." iou lian potho

It took some time but I can honestly say this is a great album that has, much to my surprise, had more staying listening power than their previous two (also both great albums). I hear a band who's not afraid to progress in their sound and I look forward to what's next.

I was a huge lovedrug fan until I listened to this album. In my opinion, this album represents a huge misstep in comparison to the band's previous albums which were amazing! This album has more of a "pop" vibe than "indie" vibe and many of the songs have a "hit it and quit it" feel to them; none of the songs are anything to get excited about. Not to be completely jaded, but there are a few decent songs on the album, but the nostalgia of old is missing. The band fails to capture the same type of grace and originality present in previous masterpieces such as Thieving, Radiology, and Spiders.

If you're looking to purchase your first lovedrug album I highly recommend picking up one of the band's previous albums instead of wasting your money on this one!