The Lemonheads - Fear of Living

***3/4

A fine wine!!!, with a fine voice.

Some things get better with age - wine, Dr. Martins, episodes of 'Black Mirror'… and sometimes voices get better too. By no means do I want to suggest that older voices can now suddenly hit those higher notes or have wider ranges, but for some artists an older voice is an accolade. It’s the voice of a lived experience, a worldly knowledge made better by its fragility and gnarly imperfections... It’s the voice of a survivor. Take for example the later releases by Johnny Cash, his voice was long gone but there was something about it that made it better, more enduring.  Or Iggy Pop’s surprising album from January this year, which I enjoyed. His voice is wrecked, but somehow he sounds better for it... he still commands your attention.

And then there is Evan Dando in his new Lemonheads release, which you just have to listen to. I’ve been a big Lemonheads fan since the very early 90s', and I still rate his 'Shame about Ray' (1992) album as one of the finest slices of songwriting and storytelling ever made. The music was perfect, but it was the experiences that oozed through in his vocals that made it better than his contemporaries. It was biographical about the people he met and connected with while travelling.

Nirvana was nihilism and angst, Lemonheads were honest experienced intimate moments that lingered. In his 'Fear of Living' single, the band bring you an experience of congruence sounds stronger than they have ever done before... even if his voice is more fragile. He also plays every part of the track too, bass, drums, guitar the lot and its probably why it sounds why it’s a forgotten song from 'Car button Cloth' (1996) album.

Although it takes some of the twee Americana vibes from that era, he makes it into something much more dusty and rustic sounding. Let's not forget, that his first output was the snarling punk of Hate Your Friends, where he would let his voice snarl and crack. Now he sounds like an old Punk riddled with survivor’s guilt, and increasingly more like Iggy Pop. It's not his best output, but it is his strongest in decades. If he keeps embracing his older voice like this he could see a renaissance in appreciation... I can't wait to hear where he goes from here. 

Review by Jason Pearson

Listen! to the Track 'Fear of Living' Below...