Spoiler alert – this isn’t an album of ballads…
I remember when Ginger was a Quireboy and when he was a Throb, I was there at the first gigs in the UK, saw the great support shows, the solo shows, the first Australian dates and the last time Ginger was over here with Courtney Love. Over the years there really have been few modern Rockers out there to match the quality of Ginger’s output , and though the decades have rolled by the quality remains. Its astonishing when you think about it!
Fast forward a good few years to ‘The Renaissance Men’ of 2019 and it’s accessibility – well if that was commercial then ‘Love Songs’ is the ‘Endless Nameless’ of the 2020’s – harsh, cutting, brutal and totally absorbing all the same.
Big riffs, big time changes, and huge choruses might just sum this up because despite the bludgeoning nature of songs like the opener and title track the choruses are epic! Without a dud n sight there’s plenty to love here, but maybe a short ahead above the pack are the venomous ‘Splitter’; the identity crisis with everything including the kitchen sink that is ‘Sleepaway’; the completely ‘Wildhearts’ – ‘Sort your Fucking Shot Out’ and maybe, just maybe, the cherry on top of the heart shaped box ‘Directions’ which really is all I love about these guys.
We close with ‘My Head Wants Me Dead,’ all fans I’m sure will know of Ginger’s struggles with Mental Health, I myself can recall a rather surreal interview I did with teh great mana few years back that really opened my eyes, but to hear a song about those struggles that is so thought provoking and real just takes this to another level. One of the very best of the year undoubtedly.
9/10