This is an excellent EP. The Loved Ones contain members of Kid Dynamite, Paint It Black, The Curse and Trial By Fire and this record, released on Jade Tree, is five songs of Hot Water Music-esque punk rock. There’s gruff vocals, chunky riffs and more melodies than you can shake a stick at. With Brian McTernan at the production helm, this has a really raw feel to it, without losing any of the polish which make Dave Hause‘s vocals really stick out. Although there is an acoutsic song (‘Drastic’), the rest of this record really does rock. ‘Candy Cane’ is a scorching closer that really does wound like HWM, while opener ‘100K’ starts things off in fine fashion.
Of course the band will generate a lot of publicity just by being former members of legendary bands, but The Loved Ones deserve some praise in their own right. The squally feedback and bass solo that sets up a middle-eight in ‘100K’ sounds perfect, while ‘Chicken’ is almost singalong in style. The only bad thing is that this record only lasts for 15 minutes – everything else is fantastic. Well recommended for anybody who likes the sound of a more melodic Strike Anywhere, or for someone who is interested to see what members of Kid Dynamite are now up to…
Jade Tree
Paul