Album, Single and EP Reviews


 

 

  In Black & White by The Love Me Nots


In Black & White cover art

Artist: The Love Me Nots
Title: In Black & White
Catalogue Number: Atomic A Go Go AGG11045
Review Format: CD
Release Year: 2007



The band are The Love Me Nots. They are from Arizona. That's all you really need to know for now so let's get to the music.

Using the famed Bluesbunny psychic powers, the volume control gets turned up to the max before the play button gets pressed. Wise decision too because it did not take long for "Move in Tight" to sledgehammer its way into our affections with some deranged Tex-mex style Farfisa organ driving this one along at a cracking pace. The dirty, grungy, surf style guitar of Michael Jonny Walker is infused into these songs too with "Voice in My Head" being a particularly heady brew. Let's not forget Nicole Laurenne's vocals that have just the right degree of sleaziness to properly complement the music. There is just no way that you would take her home to meet your mother. She would stub out her cigarette on the carpet or maybe just steal the television. You just know she would.

Sometime during "Keep Talking", Bluesbunny noticed that he was actually sweating. Despite being seated Bluesbunny was dancing on the inside and we are not talking a waltz either. The slower pace of "Cry" is not exactly calming either. It's all about attitude not beats per minute so it is.  Talking about attitude, The Love Me Nots really get into it on the closing track "Broken". Just like those ballads that old rockers used to end their shows with but they never sounded as dangerous as this band does. No idea where or how this band got together but you get the feeling that it was the Arizona state penitentiary (with Nicole having been imprisoned for some crime of passion) and all they had to put on the record player whilst there were some old 45s from the Shangri-Las, Joe "King" Carrasco, Steve Winwood, Lita Ford and the Jam. Then they got parole and formed this band.

It is hardly the custom in the music business these days to buck trends. Music as a commodity, orange is the new black - you know the sort of thing. Cover someone else's hit and you have it made. Fortunately there are bands out there that can take an old sound and turn it into something fresh and exciting and one such band is The Love Me Nots. No doubt about it. Anyway, this reviewer is off to order a copy of this album on good old fashioned vinyl. Vinyl and The Love Me Nots are surely made for each other.


www.myspace.com/luvmenots
Reviewer:
Review Date: March 12 2008