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Stories have circulated in recent years about Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando’s erratic behaviour on stage – audiences never quite knowing whether he’ll deliver another heartbreaking cover or phone a family member mid-set. At times it has seemed as if he were intent on becoming a latter-day Gram Parsons or Dan Treacy – as famous for the chaos as for the music. He’s fully aware of this, too – his new autobiography is pointedly titled Rumours Of My Demise.
Fortunately, Dando has drawn as much from Parsons’s and Treacy’s musical brilliance as from their excesses. Love Chant, The Lemonheads’ first studio album in nearly two decades, is a remarkable return to form, standing comfortably alongside their 90s peak, 1993’s Come On Feel The Lemonheads. It’s fun, frantic, and full of classic Lemonheads hooks, self-deprecating refrains, and perfectly crafted mini-operas in the style of Jimmy Webb.
Dando’s voice has deepened with age, gaining a new resonance. On the Tom Morgan co-written Deep End and the bittersweet rocker In The Margin his delivery is so rich it’s almost knee-buckling.
What exactly is a ‘classic Lemonheads lick’? It’s the irresistible refrain of Cell Phone Blues that lodges in your head permanently; it’s the woozy, celebratory sway of Be In; it’s the sweet spot where grunge collides with country, punk fuses with folk psychedelia, and the seams never show. Imagine Dinosaur Jr raised on The Archies, or your dream mid-70s country-rock band. Just the first 30 seconds of the gorgeous Togetherness Is All I’m After – a standout featuring what can only be a J Mascis guitar solo beneath Dando’s stunningly expressive vocals –alone justify this album’s existence. ‘Baby, don’t blow it,’ Dando pleads at its close.
Morgan and Mascis are just two of many collaborators here. Juliana Hatfield and John Strohm (co-writer of Togetherness) rejoin their Boston compatriot from Blake Babies days. Adam Green of Moldy Peaches co-wrote the riotous, riff-packed Wild Thing, tipping its hat to The Troggs while nodding to Lemonheads fan favourite Rick James Style. Meanwhile, Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond contributes to Roky, a laid-back psych tribute to 13th Floor Elevators visionary Roky Erickson.
Love Chant is a wonderful and surprisingly vital return to the fray.
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