Loved Drones - Good Luck Universe!

  by Adrian Janes

published: 21 / 2 / 2016

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Review

If this album was buried in a time capsule, people in the future might think its 2015 date a mistake, steeped as it is in 1960s and ‘70's influences. ‘Nomad’, with its semi-military drum pattern and underlying dark synth drone, creates a forbidding atmosphere that’s heightened by Marc Wathieu’s guitar, the whole achieving something of the power of ‘Red’-era King Crimson. Meanwhile ‘Escape from the Terror Drone’ displays the propulsive motorik beat and simple riff characteristic of Neu!, although combined with electronica elements which give it more of a contemporary feel. As the album progresses, Simon Rigot’s sitar - that psychedelic stand-by - increasingly becomes part of the mix, as in ‘Drone Alone - Crimson Skies’, where electric harp notes chase its traces. It is also prominent on ‘Pulse Radar Love’ (possibly a nod to Golden Earring’s 1973 hit). Like much else here, this track has its moments, but at over seven minutes it also feels like something where the players themselves end up the most satisfied listeners. The most focused piece is ‘Electric Blue Moon’, a melody with a clean, clear synth intro evocative of ELP’s version of ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ or Jean-Michel Jarre, which over a throbbing drone evolves into a kind of Kraftwerk-lite. An even earlier phase of Keith Emerson’s career, the era of Nice, is evoked on the final track, ‘Canyons’, where passages of organ, guitar and drums come on like a classic rock instrumental, but one which alternates with sitar and harp interludes. Apparently co-producer Man From Uranus reduced three hours of music to the 35 minutes that constitute this album, which suggests a Can-like method of hours of jamming so as to arrive at some usable tracks. The playing clearly comes from musicians who have a real mutual understanding, and at their best there is a feeling of what might be called disciplined spontaneity. But equally it can falter, to become rather formless and meandering. Maybe the Loved Drones will fare better in the future at forging completely compelling music, something which does full justice to their ability as players.

Track Listing:-

1 Nomad
2 Escape From The Terror Drones
3 Drone Alone-Crimson Skies
4 Pulse Radar Love
5 Electric Blue Moon
6 Canyons

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/TheLovedDrone
http://theloveddrones.com/

Label Links:-

http://gonzairecords.com/
http://www.gonzai.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Gonzai.magazi
https://twitter.com/gonzai
https://www.youtube.com/user/gonzaimag