A great album.
Just to be clear, if you search for this band on iTunes, the second character in N0LoveLost is the number “0”. The band is formed from established artists from the Southeast of the United States who have played in multiple bands from that region. The question to be answered – is this band superior to the sum of its collected parts?
N0Lovelost comprises Brian Azbell (drums), Scott Board (vocals), Russ Kahle (bass), Jason Staton (guitar) and Jeff Brooks (keyboards). Although formed back in 2006, this is the band´s debut album which has since taken over three years to record and was produced by Brian Azbell himself. The music is classic rock, quite frenetic with layered vocals and keyboards quite up there in the mix. As you would expect from a band with experience playing to large audiences for a long while, the musicianship is first rate. Some of the songs have a lot of ideas going on as this is a long anticipated debut album and the band clearly wants to impress.
The song writing quality is high; the opener ´Miles Apart´ commences with a guitar and keyboard instrumental building up the tension and then launches into a quality US AOR song with a great riff and layered vocals. ´Another Bad Goodbye´ and ´Sign Of The Times´ are straight forward rockers with very upfront vocals and well-constructed hooks into the choruses and great guitar touches (including a John Sykes-style solo on the former). The following salvo of ´Back On The Streets´ and ´[Lie] In Ecstacy´ keeps the pace going and establishes the band´s niche of fast paced and punchy commercial songs. ´Grounded´ and ´Desirée´ are slower ballads performed in a stereotypical 80´s way (not a bad thing) with a very orchestral delivery, whereas ‘Little Things’, track 11 of 13 on the album, is one of the most radio friendly songs with lots of tempo changes and a catchy chorus; one of the strengths of the band is its use of background vocals to really bulk up the hooks and choruses. The album closes with ´Catch Me Carrie´ and ´Friend Of Pain´ containing some fast paced rock, with lots of energy and clarion calling keyboards answered by some explosive guitar work.Vocalist, Scott Board, has taken onboard a big vocal commitment to deliver these songs live as he is clearly really putting everything into his performance on the album.
So to answer my original question – yes! N0LoveLost has delivered a great album and the band members have clearly built on their collective experiences and used their synergies to punch hard.
Rob McKenzie
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