Lovedrug
Everything Starts Where It Ends
Review by Christopher Colon
Lovedrug fans have waited three long years for their favorite band from Ohio to release a follow up to 2004's "Pretend You're Alive." After becoming the fastest-selling act ever with their Sony-affiliated label, The Militia Group, the band was signed to Columbia Records and and planned on their latest and sophomore effort, "Everything Starts Where It Ends," to be released with them. Columbia was forced to make serious cutbacks, putting Lovedrug back into the ranks of TMG. This setback from going to indie to major back to indie has not stopped them from putting out a solid record.
With lyrics like "You are sugar sweet/so fine I'd like to eat" and "Your apple's poison seed/will be the end of me" coming at you in "Happy Apple Poison," the album's opening tune, it is clear what Shepard and the rest of the gang were feeling at the time of all of their behind the scenes madness. The song opens with characteristic haunting guitar followed by Shepard's secretive and seductive vocals. What comes next will catch you off guard. The chorus throws you into unfamiliar territory, showing you that this record will be even more of an emotional journey than the last. Shepard finally just comes out and says it on the track "Thieving" ("Would you believe me if I told you/that I'm surfacing for just one thieving moment/to steal your heart?") .
While this album is dark and moody, songs like "Castling," "Doomsday and the Echo," and "Dancing," bring life and motion to your heart and your feet. The tighter, more layered, sound can be attributed to the band's change in their approach to song writing.
The overused verse-chorus-break format. The repetition will, at times, make you feel like you are running through mud, not getting anywhere with your hard earned 15 dollars you spent at FYE looking for new music. But the end of the record more than makes up for it.
Hands down, the best song writing of the new album is the track "Salt of the Earth" where Shepard declares, "All is lost if heaven fails us." The song begins with an angry, marching piano part that has a hint of Muse. It achieves the powerful effect of reflection, making that idea of heaven linger and sink into your heart.
The album title is also the title of the last song on the record. "Everything Starts Where It Ends" is a reference to the idea that it all comes back to love. It is the only thing that is able to satisfy our hungry and searching hearts.
The album closes with the words:
"Here we are again love
Here we go again
By your side I can't pretend anymore.
Now everything starts where it ends."
Love is indeed where it starts and where it ends. When you're done listening, you will want to go back and make sure that you heard it right, and then discover it all again.
For fans of: Muse, Coldplay, Copeland