J-Man
We Are You On LOTS of Caffeine!
The Love and Terror Cult is just one of those bands that a few people will enjoy, but the vast majority of music listeners will dismiss for one reason or another. The production is almost unlistenable, the vocals are horrendous, the musicianship is sloppy, and there is a distinct lack of direction on We Are You on Fire. To some, this may be exactly what they are looking for. If you're in the mood for really crazy and unpolished music with almost no attention to detail whatsoever, you may have a winner here. However, I've got a feeling that there aren't too many people looking for that description.
The best tag I can put on The Love and Terror Cult is hardcore, but there are also grindcore and noise music influences here. Not the most original, or enjoyable, combination around in my opinion. However, the biggest problem here is not The Love and Terror Cult's style, it's the way it's delivered. The compositions are not very good to start with, and tons of other flaws in terms of production and musicianship drag down that mediocrity even more. The 31 minute playtime contains no highlights whatsoever. The 11 songs here blend together with very little sense of direction, often becoming very boring and redundant. There isn't a whole lot of variation on the album, and making it to the end of this release without hitting the "off" button can be quite a challenge. What's even more shocking is the fact that the album is only slightly over a half-hour. Listening to the album from beginning to end can sometimes feel like multiple hours - very surprising considering that We Are You on Fire barely surpasses the length of an EP.
The musicianship isn't very good, honestly. The playing is sloppy, the guitars often seem out of tune, and the vocals are especially poor. Justine Smith provides us with an odd combination of screaming, talking, and shouting, delivering them in a slurred, indecipherable manner. I guess they fit the general tone of the album, but you get the picture there.
The production on We Are You on Fire is really terrible. It's unclear, amateurish, and very lo-fi - yet another thing that diminishes any quality that can be found on this album.
Conclusion:
We Are You on Fire is not a very successful album by The Love and Terror Cult. If you think you might like this album, however, give it a shot! The band has generously provided it as a free download from their website. I can't say I recommend the album to anybody based on the quality of the music, though. Despite the generous price tag, this is really only worth your time if you're really desperate for getting some free music. My rating here is one I try to use sparingly - the dreaded 1 star. There really isn't anything exciting on this release, and I think that my review has justified that rating enough. Still, I hope the band can try to make a more professional and focused third album - that may actually be interesting.
(Originally Posted on SeaofTranquility.org)