Search - Lotion :: Full Isaac

Songs of love found but not held, appealingly delivered

John L Murphy | Los Angeles | 11/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Great indie rock, solid yet sensitive, from 1996. Overlooked and when it was noticed, denigrated for the band's admiration by Thomas Pynchon! The vocals can be whiny at times, but if you like passion mixed into what used to be called alternative, guitar-based rock, this has held up for years in my CD player when hundreds of other 90s albums lie dormant. The lyrics often reflect/emote on unrequited love, but intelligently rather than embarassingly. Literate, as if Holden Caulfield formed a NYC band, but not as mopey as the emo crowd to which this may be a forgotten progenitor has proven to be.



Their next album, "Nobody's Cool," has a harder edge and bigger production scale, but this debut, produced itself by Kurt Ralske, ranks high in consistently listenable albums, from start to finish, that mix a bit of self-deprecting humor and character development into their passel of youthful romantic concerns. By the way, check out Ralske's Ultra Vivid Scene (especially "Rev" for another sadly obscure 90's sound both engaging and fresh)."