Lonely London Lad
Foaming at the Mouth
Lonely London Lad Records
2009
Review By Kent Manthie
This, the second offering from Lonely London Lad, Foaming at the Mouth, is the newest in a brave new world of pop/indie/underground music (not necessarily in that order), is an awesome follow up to their eponymous debut, which was quite a feat that, for lesser mortals, would’ve been hard to measure up to, if not surpass.
Foaming at the Mouth takes the listener on a different track. Whereas their double-CD eponymous debut was a real mind-blower, a trippy, slower, but still confident record that stretched many musical boundaries which gave them plenty of time and space to let loose the magic in their minds that was written down and then recorded, Foaming at the Mouth is a bit more upbeat and, if I may say so myself, a little more self-confident, as if they realized they did get it right the first time, so now, what the hell, keep on with the eclecticism that marked their debut. Like I said, this one’s a bit more uptempo, at least in places, but they still use the vivid imagination that is their to have put together a (just one disc this time) album full of new sounds that I really can’t compare to anyone, it’s so original.
Some of the tunes that stick out and differentiate LLL from their brilliant debut include the first cut, “Men”, “John Wayne”, which is a humorous take on the macho-ness of the late tough guy who died of lung cancer in the late 70s. “Chain Gang” is also a danceable treat that grooves throughout and “Hollow Men” has this retro, 1960s vibe to it, like, say, from 1966 when bands like the Zombies, The Animals and Love were all over Sunset Blvd. making the scene. “Mr. Jones” is another groove that has this drumbeat which has a feel like a horseback ride, you keep waiting for a whip to crack. But otherwise its catchiness is so neo-psychedelic, which is really what I’d describe the whole of Foaming at the Mouth – a retro trip through that decade of paradigm shifts and the beginning of the end of trust in the US, at least – trust in “leaders” and so-called “great men” – after the fiasco of Vietnam, the fire hosing and sic-ing of dogs on civil rights protesters as well as the Klan-connected murders of three white Freedom Riders, condoned with the Klan-connected version of the law in the ultra racist, hateful Deep South.
Instead of doing the usual 60s retro thing by being neo-psychedelic and trying to be like Jimi, Cream, Morrison or the Dead, LLL go the route of the more pop-oriented, aforementioned bands, but also in there I here a little bit of Arthur Lee’s Love, which couldn’t get more psychedelic, as I remember reading somewhere, years ago that Lee, after a while, was “on LSD 24 hours a day…” LLL don’t dwell on the past but create a future of indie-pop-neo psych-out that really stretches the mind.
I could go on, deconstructing each song on here, which are all very well done and nods to the keyboard-infused danceable 60s stuff, really hold their own here. In fact, I am at a loss for words to compare this to any band that’s around in their heyday in today’s music world.
So, kudos to Lonely London Lad and I must add that that tinny keyboard really adds a sonic groove which heightens the experience all that more. I honestly cannot find a single criticism that I can articulate. Although, give it to some critic who’s much more jaded and I’m sure that they’ll always find something to snipe about, well, to hell with them!
Rock on and here’s to the future! – KM
