Reviews
Independent Newpaper (Saturday 15/06/02)
Single Of The Week
Few bands manage to push out such a good humoured party vibe as this Ipswich quartet, whose tuneful, poppy, punky sound comes across like prime-era Green Day with extra riffage. All five tracks are strong and the packaging is rather cool too.

Fracture
I've always liked this band, on-one else I know plays that REPLACEMENTS card so well these days. Their album from last year was great, but probably sold like shit cuz the kids don't get it, Their loss, as this band play high octane, alcohol fueled rock'n'roll with sublime tunes and with a wreckless abondonment that so few bands have in this age of squeaky clean emo perfection rock. This 5 track EP showcases possibly their finest song 'Ethan & Emma', this version has been knocking around since 1997, bit it still sounds great and the two other originals are solid , Not too sure about the cover songs (Petty and Dylan)n, but this is a cool insight to a band that deserves a little more attention than they get. I haven't seen them play in years, that's a shame as they are a band who follow no trends and stick to their guns, that's something to be admired these days. Nice packaging too, so pick this up, and if you like what you hear then head straight for their album which is on crackle. (DS)

Maximum Rock N Roll(USA)
Five tracks recorded at various times from these UK pop punkers. Out of the same scene that brought us Mega City Four and the Sensless Things, these odds and ends continue in that sound. A good inbetween LP's release. (RL)

Mass Movement
I tell you, it's nice to see Lovejunk are still going after all these years and I happen to like anything Wolfie Retard does (musically that is remember - the Stupids?). 5 great tracks of dirty guitar based meldoic punk rock. Sort of reminds me of Superchunk with a slice of early Lemonheads. This is a great disc and I suggest you all sample this EP as an essential part if your education in life. Edward Tudds

Riot 77 (Ireland)
Not too shady Replacements influenced rock from Ipswich, featuring ex-members of bands like the Stupids, Bad Dress Sense and Space Maggots. Five songs on a nice gatefold CD sleeve. Lovejunk have been around a while and had dealings with labels like Crackle and Germany's High Society International. The early sound of Lemonheads "Hate Your Friends" and "Creator" era looks to be a strong influence here. The roots are garage and Sub Pop mainly, but given a modern twist. The instantly identifiable vocals of Scruff should stand testimony to the band's lasting impact on the independent rock circuit around the UK. The final track goes out in a severe J Mascali drawl - always a guaranteed winner to wrap things up.

Scruffster
Listening to Lovejunk it's like the last decade or so didn't happen in pop punk terms. Mega City 4 and the Senseless Things are about to land in majorville and everyone's got dreads or scraggy hair and wearing drainpipes with Converse baseball-boots, and writing songs about teenage fumblings in the local Wimpy of a Saturday night. This four piece have been active on and off since the early 90's having cut their teeth in bands like Perfect Daze and The Stupids and have got their shit together to put out an EP of recordings from various sessions over the last six years. The resulting release evokes the spirit and sound of a band firmly rooted in a less calculating time when the only thing glossy about a pop punk band were the Dulux streaks covering up the rust on their beaten up Transit.
As for the music, 'Ethan & Emma' steals the show reminding us just how good the style the enemy press once derided as 'Fraggle Rock' can really be. It's a perfectly formed heart-tugging emotional melodic three minute pop punk song, with lyrics and a tune the nice girl next door can hum along all day to. 'Parents Can't Win' and 'Vodatumour Blues' keep things burning quite nicely in a similar vein before the EP finishes up with oddly chosen covers of Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. Paul

Artcore
These boys are naturals. Yeah they wear their influences on their sleeves, but when a band makes good songwriting seem as effortless as this then you can't help but catch their drift maaan. Mr Scruff Myers must've been playing bedroom-guitar along to those Replacements and Superchunk records for years cuz the tunes just flow out of him. 'Ethan & Emma' is classy stuff, 'Parents Can't Win' reads oddly like 'Kids Don't Follow' to me (ha ha), there's the title track, followed by Dylan and Petty cover numbers. All this comes in snazzy for your currency.

NFT
This is the second release by this Ipswich based band and here they deliver five tracks of highly energetic pop punk. The first three tracks, Ethan And Emma, Parents Can't Win and the title track Vodatumor Blues have a real feel-good factor to them, the kind of music that reminds me of the summertime, playing football in the park and drinking... that's a good feeling! You can tell this band have a lot of fun playing their music and that comes across on this release. There's a couple of covers on this too - Bob Dylan's If You Gotta Go and Tom Petty's Walls, both of which are covered well and LOVEJUNK have given both covers their own touch so they fit in very well with the rest of the EP. A good choice of cover tracks! LOVEJUNK have an original English pop-punk sound which is definitely a breath of fresh air from all that shitty American poppy crap that is so overplayed. Also, the packaging of this CD is fantastic! It's very cool looking! A really cool EP. Short and sweet and to the point.

Kerrang
KKKK
Grunge-infected pop junk-sters.
THE RECENT wave of pop-punk bands may gorge thenselves sick on saccharine choruses and stolen guitar riffs, but in the early 90's bubblegum punk was pressed firmly into the grime-laden gutter. In the care of bands like The Lemonheads, summery melodic guitar lines were spiked with the drug-laced, dysfunctional aesthetic of grunge.
Suffolk quartet Lovejunk hark back to that pre-Blink era, when buzzsaw guitars weren't the sole property of baggy-panted loons. Remarkably, they avoid sounding like Nirvana, instead combining the melodic suss of Sebadoh and the art-rock leanings of Sonic Youth to sulphurous effect. But there are enough simplistic couplets like 'I used to call you on the phone/When I knew you were not home' to ensure that 'Vodatumour Blues' stays on the emotional side of pop punk. - JANE GILLOW

Organ
Hey Lovejunk's urgent infectious punk pop took a few leaps forward, three catchy songs that stand out far more than they have in the past, urgent feel good punk-pop demons that may well see them lift themselves into the premiership without the need of them playoffs - a couple of goofy covers , a Dylan song, a Tom Petty song, complete the five song line up (impressive packaging too). Salvaged and structured, we've never been that fussed about Lovejunk before....

Unfit For Consumption(Ireland)
This reminds me a lot of the bands from the 90's who had a melodic punk
sound musically but the vocals were knee deep in indie, bands like Mega City
Four, and Senseless Things. Lovejunk have that same melodic punk sound
topped off with those indie style vocals, but it comes together far better
than either of the two bands I prviously mentioned. What you get on this
five track ep are four really good originals and a lacklustre cover of Tom
Petty's "Walls". I certainly hear bits of Dinosaur Jnr in there alongside
some Husker Du influence. To be honest its more of a retro sound that
they've got going, but if you're sick to the back teeth of the polished
EpiFat stuff you'll take enjoyment from this fine ep. (TM)

Here Be Monsters
Strong English feel as usual teasing something a little different from the melodicore-ish punk genre. These Ipswich based lads rely on quality not quantity which is great for a change in this world of 25 track CDs - and as well as the three of their own you get two not so usual covers: Tom Petty's - Walls, and Dylan's - If You Gotta Go - which are fast and furious. Nothinh much else to say... If there was any justice LOVEJUNK would be up there with the best of 'em by now. Nice 'double sleeve' pack by the way. Quality.

Black Velvet
Here's a nice dose of sugary, fun, infectious bop-till-ya-drop rock. It's sleazy, pop-punky and makes your head sway. The guys have a youthful exhuberance and should go far. Write their name down on your 'ones to check out list. 4/5

Pastepunk (USA)
Veteran UK power poppers LOVEJUNK are no strangers to developing their sound and style, as is proved by the curiously titled 'Vodatumour Blues' out now on In At The Deep End Records' massively diverse roster. Whether it's screamo, indie or straight up punk rawk, this label does it all, with each release marked with its own distinct swipe of quality, including this one. Sounding a little like the RAMONES being pinned to the ground by the likes of the BUZZCOCKS and the UNDERTONES, the consistently bright sound and general air of goodness that surrounds these five tunes means you can't help but play it constantly. 'Ethan And Emma' kicks things off with an extremely catchy punch, followed by 'Parents Can't Win' which is the stuff dreams are made of. Unfortunately the three tracks that follow don't come close to hitting the quality of the first two, but in general this is a neat CD that fans of light punk and catchy rock music should dig relentlessly.

Big Cheese
I must admit to being a little wary of this Cd, seeing as the band sound like they were named after a Wildhearts B-side, but they have a drummer called Sparky hooter (LOL fell for it -Mark IATDE), so I gave them the benefit of the doubt, It's just as well I did because on this EP, Lovejunk present 5 slices of chirpy melodic guitar pop. Ok, so it's not gonna blow any minds with originality but 'Vodatumour Blues' does a good job of sticking it's infectious melodies and buzzing chords into the listeners frontal lobe. Throw in a couple of inspired covers originally recorded by Bob Dylan & Tom Petty and wrap it all up in some sweet packaging, and you're into a bit of a winner.

Punktastic
Ipswich is not exactly a place you would imagine as a hot bed of punk rock activity. However, it is home to rising UK punkers Lovejunk. The band released their debut album, ‘Tribulations’ last year and are now releasing five new tracks on the ‘Vodatumour Blues’ EP. Lovejunk have been together as a band for sometime but it is only recently that people are beginning to sit up and take notice of them. They are a band with the pop punk label firmly attached to them, but this release shows them with a few heavier rock leanings as well. The band are also well renowned for their fun filled live gigs, which can feature anything from hook filled songs to trouser dropping antics! ‘Vodatumour Blues’ features five unreleased songs of varying quality. It is worth bearing in mind at this point that a couple of the songs were recorded a number of years ago. (Way back in the 90’s!) The EP opens with a bang with the best song on it, the catchy ‘Ethan & Emma’. It is a song that showcases everything that is good about the band; a melodic, speedy little song that has a chorus that will stick in your head. It is easy to see why it is a live favourite. ‘Parents Can’t Win’ is a little slower, with more rock leanings. It has a lot of potential but is let down by a below par chorus. ‘Vodatumour Blues’ is probably the weakest song on the EP. It just isn’t memorable in any shape or form. The last two songs on the EP are covers and very much a hiss and miss affair. The cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘If You Gotta Go’ is a definite hit and is well performed by the band. However, the cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Walls’ is a miss. In truth it probably wasn’t the best song to attempt to cover.

Allschool (Germany)
Love Junk sind eine Pop/Rock/Punk band aus Ipswitch Suffolk/England. Die Band gibt es schon seit ende 89 und seit dem haben sie rund 10 Demos (!!!) mit insgesamt ca. 50 songs und 2 selbstveröffentlichte CDs aufgenommen und rausgebracht.
Klingen tun sie wie 4 Jungs in den 70ties die gerade von zu Hause ausgerissen sind und nun das machen was ihnen passt und sonst nix.
Demnach klingt die EP auch sehr ungezwungen und einfach cool. Recht rockig und frisch, nicht Bahnenbrechend aber einfach gemütlich und nett anzuhören!
Das Digipack ist vom designerischen her nicht gerade ein Unikat aber mein Gott! Musikalisch ganz cool - check it out!!!! 6/10 Simone

Miuzik.com
Lovejunk ring out of my headphones with their energetic pop-punk gems and instantly it feels like it’s really July and not Febuary out there. As it is its raining but that won’t put me off, in opener Ethan & Emma I have found my potential song for the summer. With its sugar sweet lyrics (“I don’t really know you but I like you anyway”) delivered in the snottiest possible way and the songs ultra melodic choruses the song rivals YOUR favourite band on sheer enthusiasm alone. Like a good mix of The Mr T Experience, Greenday and American Hi Fi, the song just doesn't go wrong. The band have been going since 1989 and have obviously learnt something along the way. Second track "Parents Can’t Win" is the Sex Pistols for the year 2000. Messy, fuzzy but ultimately enjoyable. The song is let down by the inferior production quality but again the enthusiasm is not lacking and the trademark snotty lyrics are ever present. Next up is the title track Vodatumour blues. An other love song it appears and again more flashes of The Mr T Experience with its acoustic punk approach. The song is much more relaxed than the previous 2 but is still a beautifully crafted track counting in at just under 3 minutes it’s the track of choice to play on a beach on summer remote beach location. Another gem. The album is closed with a cover of Tom Petty’s “Walls” and Lovejunk redeem themselves. Opting for the spat out vocal delivery again the band this time keep the tempo pretty steady but crank the whole song up. The result is a song that does justice to its original without sounding like a rip-off. Hey the band even manage to stick in the intro from “Pretty Vacant” by the Pistols in the fade out of the song and that’s no mean feat.
So there you have it, British punk is very much alive.
by Boaz Sachs - 11-7-2002

Enough Webzine (Germany)
Another CDEP on In At The Deep End Records, again with the nice gatefold cardboard sleeve, which is a regular for IATDE CDEPs. As Lovejunk was formed by former members of bands like The Stupids (!), Perfect Daze & the Space Maggots, I was excited about how they´ll sound. Yep, no letdown here. Poppunk to sweep the dancefloor or at least your living room to. Has all this type of music needs: Melodies, upbeat drumming and drunk band members (at least they claim to be...). Contains 3 songs by Lovejunk and coversongs by Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.