www.subsiren.com
(volume 2 review)
L.E.D. have a whiff of something special and they rock pretty
hard. Track 1: 'John Majors Megadrive' - well firstly
this is the best song title ever. Do you reckon John used to
invite Maggie T over for Street Fighter, Tory Deathmatch? I
bet Maggie would choose Dhalsim, he was the best and those arms
were absolutely ruthless. Jimmy Major would probably go for
the mysterious Ryu to give himself that much needed bit of enigma
and make up for his shortcomings on the macho side.
This song sounds like if you hired a reception room for a party,
and on the otherside of the building there are a bunch of dirty
Mods having a Ska disco. In your room Interpol are jamming with
The Futureheads, they are larking about because they have just
watched Spinal Tap round Carlos D's gaff and laughed so hard,
so they are on their Knees blasting out the occasional cock-rock
riff. Anyway you nip out to the toilet because Andy Gill has
served you one too many dubious looking purple cocktails and
with all the bass jerk you are starting to feel a little queasy.
As you tiptoe over a drunken Mod to get to the lavs the notes
are criss-crossing above your head and you have somewhat of
a musical epiphany.
'Sendai' is also a scorcher of a track. I was actually
singing along by the end of the first play. 'This New Wave'
had me singing along too, gorgeously sober tones twinned with
the manic tambourine PIL-esque chorus chanting 'this is
the new wave/there aint no turning back'. Please someone
sign this lot before I sell all my records and pimp my soul
to Satan in order to fund thier first release, these boys are
pure dollar. I'd be laughing all the way to thge bank, ha ha
ha.
Those naughty scamps also put a lovely little hidden track on
the end as well. A spooky little space jam which conjures images
of that time when you were hanging aboard stranded cargo vessel
Ulysses 7 playing alien top trumps with crewmate Wilson who
glances up at you with a look as if to say 'It's over..' You
know your crew are doomed because the navigation system has
gone caput, parasite-like aliens are growing inside you and
all your SOS probes are lost in oblivion. But as you stare out
of the window into the blackness that endures to consume you,
you catch a glimpse of a shooting star and for that second,
that split second all is at peace.
GEMMA FLEET
www.logo-magazine.com
(volume 2 review)
Superficially, Love Ends Disaster! trade in the choppy old/new
wave lines and stop-on-a-dime theatrics of Interpol and Gang
Of Four, indulging their taste for a spot of Muse-alike bombast
along the way. Keep listening though and a Ska beat rears its
head, and a coda – to ‘John Major’s Megadrive’ – that sounds
like someone’s been listening to Pat Metheny.
Now there’s an interesting juxtaposition, one that’s further
underlined by what could be British Sea Power trading lines
with Todd Rundgren and Ian Curtis. It feels like 1979, again,
but for once that’s a comment intended to evince feelings of
nostalgic warmth.
ALAN
www.rawnervepromotions.co.uk
(volume 2 review)
I like the drawn out, black and white artwork that accompanies
this seemingly quite odd release that isn't a compilation, Love
Ends Disaster is the name of the band.
"John Major's MegaDrive" starts us off and has a very 80's feel
for the most part, with a definite overtone of Squeeze and Psychedelic
Furs in there, but with guitars a lot more punk rock and heavier
sounding in places interspersed between the Paul Weller of old
style vocal ramblings. Some excellent little licks of lead melodies
drop in inbetween lines, and there are also some beautiful,
more airy, spaced out harmonies and chords blowing passed. A
decent, if not slightly strange, eclectic sounding opening piece
that flits around quite a lot in its 150 seconds long life.
Next up is "Sendai" which is a little more akin to the early
80's gothic rock sound, especially in the very British sounding
vocal, before "This new wave" chills things out some more, precedings
its own mini build ups and tension mounting chorus. It's approaching
four in the morning, and although my main love is for extreme
metal, electro and anything very progressive, this is a good
listen for this late (early) hour.
PAUL
www.dosomethingpretty.com
(volume 2 review)
For those of you who’ve never been fortunate enough to
witness the Love Ends Disaster live experience, fear ye not
because ‘Volume II’ collects three of the most vital
staples of their chaotic-yet-heroic live set and runs them through
the blender AKA the studio mixing desk and…Hey Presto!
The results are astounding.
In case you’re all sat there scratching your heads in
dismay, here’s a quick introduction. Love Ends Disaster
are a five piece based in Nottingham, Loughborough and beyond
who make thought provokingly energetic music that is equal parts
Mogwai, Talking Heads, Radiohead and the Gang Of Four. Their
previous demo (entitled ‘Volume 1’, natch…)
was recorded entirely live and although the potential was there
for all to see, it failed to truly encapsulate the kind of exuberant
ferocity evident when seeing the band in the flesh. Fortunately,
‘Volume II’ does just that with ‘John Major’s
Megadrive’ (sample lyric: - “Replaced his heart
with a stone in the back of the nineties…”), three
minute burst of post-punk that reduces The Futureheads, Art
Brut and all those other bands the NME have been fawning over
for months to mere pub band status. ‘This New Wave’
meanwhile transcends a similar ocean of sounds to those encapsulated
by the ‘Head on ‘Hail To The Thief’ except
it’s err…got a tune.
The undoubted highlight of the demo though is the polemic ‘Sendai’,
a masterpiece that evokes ‘Damaged Goods’ era Gang
Of Four with the Mars Volta’s more sporadic musings, while
singer Oakes uses his most Byrn-ian way of expression in observations
such as “Hello Sendai, notice how everyone’s good
looking now…”. All in all then, ‘Volume II’
is one of the most accomplished demos I’ve had the pleasure
of listening to all year and with an imminent single deal in
the pipeline with Denial Records, the future looks intermittently
rosy for Love Ends Disaster.
DOM GORLAY
www.alt-uk.com
(volume 2 review)
I don’t really know a lot about this band, but to be honest
it doesn’t really matter because you only have to listen to
their music for a few seconds to realise that they rock. How
can I possibly start to describe this band – let me see : fucking
amazing?! That probably doesn’t do them any justice really so
just promise me one thing – make sure you listen to this band
for yourselves and then you can come up with your own conclusion.
There are three tracks on this CD and it is not until you have
listened to all 3 of these that you realise actually how good
this band are. All three of these tracks are extremely different
and in their own ways are all complete masterpieces. The first
track, ‘John Major’s MegaDrive’ is probably my favourite track
of the three as I feel that this is the track which caries the
most energy and pizzazz. This track has energy galore all the
way through and is just one of those tracks that will stick
in your head for years to come – it is sure to stand the test
of time. Its defining feature is definitely the vocals – they
are just so damn good on this track and give it such a great
flavour. They are definitely something special and I swear that
this vocalist will inspire a lot of people to make music as
I certainly found this man inspiring and if this band were to
be heard on a mass scale then they would definitely be seen
as one of the greatest bands ever to have walked this earth.
The band have ecstatic bass lines which will grab you by the
toe, pick you up and toss you around with what seems like ease
on the bands behalf. They also have some cracking drum beats
and guitar riffs which really complete the bands immense sound
and are what make a great band an inspirational band. It is
impossible not to rock out while you are listening to this band
as they are just so damn good and will have you at the edge
of your seat at every opportunity with their damn fine music.
Check out this band if you have any taste in rock music whatsoever
– seriously, this band is one of the greatest rock bands that
I have ever heard in my life and I am sure that they already
have a thriving fan base, and by the sounds of things before
long they will be huge and they truly deserve it. They deserve
it way more than any of the latest flash in the pan Emo bands
at the moment – this band have personality and a lot of the
bands at the moment are really lacking in this as they just
all the same and are copying one another. Loves Ends Disaster’s
sound is certainly unique and is just one of those sounds that
is impossible to dislike, or indeed not love.
RICH
www.iateyourmicrophone.com
(volume 2 review)
The first demo release from Love Ends Disaster! saw them experimenting
with varying styles in their own somewhat left-of-centre way
and their return here with a second volume of rough cuts and
freshly laid down songs sees that trend continued. Following
the four-track live capture of "Volume I", the band have seen
fit to upgrade to a studio this time for the recording, and
the benefit is displayed in opener 'John Major's Megadrive',
the only track of old to make this release. With a buoyant rock
vibe felt in the upbeat instrumental passages, the somewhat
dissonant but infectiously captivating vocal work successfully
blends to make a sub-three minute song that nonetheless covers
a lot of ground via it's deceptively simple melody.
Next, we have 'Sendai', a more open-ended affair that revolves
around in a very calm but also somewhat psychadelic fashion,
not helped by the horribly sneering 'La la la' chorus that renders
itself heard from time to time. Messy, scattered guitar emissions
spiral their way in a feedback-soaked manner to the eventual
end of the track, upon which the last song proper 'This New
Wave' enters with an electro-acoustic introduction based around
weird but effective chords. A really laid back experience is
this one, though it allows itself to rise on a couple of occasions
to a passionate cry in the repeated message 'this is the new
wave, there ain't no turning back'.
Falling more in line with the direction of the opening cut,
these passages of sanguine feel are perhaps the most refined
aspect of Love Ends Disaster!s sound at present, when compared
with the loose-fitting, freeform style that prevails elsewhere
in the more lengthy compositions. They evidently enjoy flitting
from one musical whim to another, and their eclectic and varied
offerings to date are an impressive if unrestrained capture
of enthusiasm. While this is another thoroughly enjoyable outing
once accustomed to their innovative take on songwriting, the
next step forward for Love Ends Disaster! is going to be one
where they can truly make each moment of every song count. It
surely can't be long now before this outfit's potential is fully
realised.
CHRIS
www.iateyourmicrophone.com
(volume 1 review)
With a new legion of groups of the likes of The Eighties Matchbox
B-Line Disaster reaching prominence around the little old country
of England, you might think the underground realms of avante
garde rock are becoming somewhat overwhelmed. But damn, we have
another contender in the shape of Love Ends Disaster, who despite
the relatively short time since their incarnation have actually
penned some decent and somewhat original material. Carrying
the laid-back vibes of Queens Of The Stone Age, mixed with a
good helping of dredg and a few garage-rock sensibilities thrown
in there, it seems that Love Ends Disaster have whole realms
of potential in which to explore their sound further. Despite
the fact that they're currently still in the demo phase, it's
not difficult to imagine them riding high on the laurels of
a major label roster in coming months or years.
CHRIS
www.storylinerecords.com
(volume 1 review) Loveendsdisaster has got some rad
tunes. I want to call it emo music only without the whiny sobby
lyrics. Their music flows with a good rockin' sound that doesn't
get boring half way through. Points are awarded to the guitarists,
bass too, it doesn't really sound like they're following any
set order even though they are, they dance around all crazy
like in a Jimmy Hendrix sorta way. Musically it sounds like
everybody in this band really knows what they're doing which
is surprising because from what I can tell from the photo's
on their website they look young.
Loveendsdisaster certainly carries their sound with guts and
energy better than a lot of other bands their age, heck, even
better than a lot of bands who are way older than them. One
final note, some pictures on their website really freaked me
out because all of the people in the crowd were sitting down!
That's nuts! Sitting down and not rocking while these guys play
is like watching a fireworks display with your eyes closed and
your ears plugged. All in all, Loveendsdisaster gets a healthy
dosing of rock points as well as my personal stamp of approval,
their music sounds good, really good, and if you're not some
numb robot you will want to listen to more.
ANON
www.drownedinsound.com
(volume 1 review)
If there's one thing that even some of the most accomplished
bands have continuously tried and yet so often failed to do,
is the seemingly impossible task of recreating a "live"
sound whilst in astudio environment.
On that note alone, I would give Love Ends Disaster full marks
for bravery, if that's the right word, as they have taken the
almighty gamble of recording a warts-and-all live demo, complete
with between song tuning and false starts, as well as the obligatory
burst of feedback that you could well do with out given the
circumstances, but hey, that's what playing live is all about,
right? At times, particularly on the Godspeed furrowing epic
'The Smallest Girl In The World', Love Ends Disaster emanate
a monstrous array of sound that belittles their not-yet-out-of-the-rehearsal-room
status, while the quirky bit-pop of 'John Major's Megadrive'
has a spritely When Adam Met The Ants ring to it - Futureheads
take note.
However, the title track does occasionally sound like the by-product
of a bunch of people who've maybe listened to 'Kid A' and 'Amnesiac'
one time too many and the closing 'TV' sounds distant and claustrophobic,
yet you get the feeling in a live setting it would take on a
whole new meaning. 3/5
DOM GORLAY


