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The Love Drunks, The Love Drunks

by David Agee
04/22/2006

Imagine a 50's era sock hop, complete with all the cheesy stereotypes of poodle skirts and a young Henry Winkler with greased hair and a leather jacket. Now imagine if The Sex Pistols had grown up in Georgia and were playing that same venue at the same time with the same songs. This is a rough sketch of The Love Drunks; rockabilly played too loud with too much distortion and screeched in a southern accent.

The Love Drunks self-titled debut album is a 31-minute punch in the face. It kicks off, literally kicks, with vocalist Patrick A. roaring into "Sketch," a call-and-response battle with one of the gutsiest, deeply bluesy distorted guitar noises heard south of the Mason-Dixon line. Throughout the album, Michael Holler's guitar is ear piercing, Chris Koby Downs' upright bass throbs and Ryan Ozone's drums gallop while Patrick A.'s vocals sound the howling whistle of this blues-punk locomotive. Whether the tempo is a lazy sway, as in "Blow," or as quick paced as "John Hutcherson Rag," which makes me want to square-dance while wearing a mohawk and spikes, if you're not moving at least a little bit during this album, check your pulse.

The Love Drunks aren't just about the noise, though. Lyrically, this album far exceeds the low bar set for most debut albums. Patrick A.'s lyrics span an array of subjects. On "Riot in Haymarket Square," Patrick A. describes the riots that should have happened after the trial and execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in the 1920s. The Love Drunks also take time to reflect on life after death in "Heaven," claiming "Heaven's where you'll play your show 'cause it's where good musicians go."

The standout song on the album would be "Dirty Bits (Women and Livin')." The longest song on the album, clocking in at not quite four minutes, finds The Love Drunks lamenting on the pain caused by drugs and women. Patrick A. finds his true inner bluesman, wailing a capella as the song ends "Women and Livin', they just don't mix."

The Love Drunks start the album with a bang, and end with a shriek. "Mortician Blues," the final song on the album, culminates in a minute of harsh feedback, giving the feeling of a guitar being destroyed onstage. The Love Drunks manage to take the two music genres that require the most passion to be played well, blues and punk, and create something loud, fuzzy, and bloody awesome.