Although this album was produced by the same producer that worked with Three Doors Down and the guitarist from the same band, don’t hold it against Love 45. Once deemed a Christian band, Love 45 has since moved away from that designation and sought fame and glory along the power-rock bands of the day. Imagine here, a mixture of “A Boy Named Goo”-era Goo Goo Dolls along with the power chords of Nickelback, and we have something that approximates the sound one will get from Love 45. “Awake” comes into the picture as the slower-tempo introspective-style rock track, and seems just as suited for pop-rock radio as anything currently out on the market. Fuzzy guitar distortion on the track hearkens back to The Proclaimers and Fuel. The gritty voice of Paul is contrasted to a high degree to the perfectly-produced guitar riffs on this disc.
“Awake” is the lyrical progression of “Slippery When Wet” Bon Jovi, while “Smile” is the musical progression of Poison and White Lion. Harder guitar lines than would be found in either aforementioned bands’ repertoire will be found, a not-so-subtle nod to the current wave of hard-rock acts (Nickelback, Three Days Grace, Three Doors Down). Much is made of the Three Doors Down – Love 45 connection through the press pack, but – dare I say it – Love 45 doesn’t need to do this type of blatant name-dropping. The tracks are aural crack – although I would probably be ruing the day they were first over-played on Clearchannel radio – owing much to strongly written lyrics and musical lines that lend themselves equally well to a road trip or just hanging out in someone’s room.
The final track, “Over My Head”, is much more of that first type of song, with the surgical knife of Paul’s voice cutting through the perfectly-crunchy guitars of the track. A short track time mixed with a very catchy chorus ensure that this track is the crux of the band’s accomplishments, more so than playing at the Texas Motor Speedway or Red Rocks Amphitheatre. While Love 45 might want to show you who they know and where they’ve been, they should really let the music do the talking for them. Their recent success on pretty much any media outlet that has picked them up should really show that.
Rating: 8.0/10
Love 45 – The Seattle Sessions EP / 4 Songs / 2003 Self-Released / http://www.love45.com / [email protected] / Reviewed 20 December 2003 / Received 24 November 2003
Top Tracks : Over My Head