Loudermilk - The Red Record Review
Posted by Ryan T. Murphy on 09.03.2002
...Or "When Mods Learn How to Rock"
The first thing you notice looking at Loudermilk's yet-to-be released The Red Record is the band's appearance on the album cover. Black suits with ties or black turtleneck's and Beatles haircuts, all while playing vintage Marshall stacks lead one to believe that we've got another Hives on our hands. Yet one listen to the music on the inside.....well, kinda confirms that. But not entirely, since A) the production values aren't intentionally bad and B) some of the songs are kind of balls-out hard rock. The balance between the trashy hard rock elements and the mellow emo are what makes this record stand out.
The songs themselves cover an intriguing range. Besides having some of the most creative song titles I've heard in a long time, from one song to the next can sound like a completely different band. Well, not entirely, since the vocalist sounds like Billy Corgan in all the songs, but the band in back can sound anywhere from Stone Temple Pilots-wannabes to Guns-n-Roses-wannabes to Radiohead-wannabes to White Stripes-wannabes. In fact Loudermilk, despite having some sort of genuine talent and a modicum of creativity, never really find an original niche for themselves. Rather, they sound more like a tossed-salad theory band than a melting-pot theory band. All the elements are mixed together but each remains its own separate entity.
The first track, "Estrogen Oxygen Aches In the Teeth Again", is the most likely to be a hit by Loudermilk. It has slow and mellow elements yet still manages to bring the noise in its own special way. That and the title-repeating chorus is nothing short of addictive. I think they burn heroin into the cds, so that when it plays the heroin releases through your speakers and makes you continually stare at your feet and sing "Estrogen oxygen aches in the teeth again" over and over and over until you go through withdrawal and start seeing dead babies on the celing. Or maybe its just a good song. "California" and "Elekt" are the two most intense rock songs, with the former sounding heavier than some alleged metal bands and the latter being a Guns-n-Roses style cock rock jam. I also liked "Rock n Roll and the Teenage Desperation." I even liked it back when it was called "Rumble in the Tough" off of STP's Tiny Music album. Seriously, "...Desperation" is almost a note for note ripoff of the STP song, but it still sounds good and the lyrics are a bit more intense.
Also, I gotta give credit to any band who can have a song called "97 Ways to Kill A Superhero" and make it a piano-led emo ballad.
Honestly, I do predict that Loudermilk will hit it big in the near future, at least being a one hit wonder rock radio sensation for a month or two. The lack of originality, or at least the presence of mix & match influences, will eventually come back to bite them in the ass, though. If someone wanted to hear a cavalcade of alternative-to-hard rock bands at once they can always burn a mix cd and not have to spend the money necessary to get Loudermilk's music. I hope the band keeps that in mind, because they obviously need the cash to feed their thrift store addiction.
Track Listing for Loudermilk's The Red Record:
1. Estrogen Oxygen Aches in the Teeth Again
2. California
3. Kreates a Presence to Blush
4. The Twisting
5. Ash to Ash
6. Elekt
7. Mai
8. 97 Ways to Kill a Superhero
9. Anthema
10. Juin
11. Rock n Roll and the Teenage Desperation
12. Goldie Ella
13. Julliet
14. Attached at the Mouth
Thanks for reading and I hope you all read more of my work now that I'm writing for 411mania.
The 411: Loudermilk borrow from a lot of the song styles that are popular nowadays.
