Loudlife - Self Titled Firethorn Music By Soup

There's something lost between recording and playing a live set. Sometimes this gives a band the opportunity to surprise you. If a band seems weak on a recorded disc, you might be surprised to learn their live shows are astonishing. Then again, and this is the real bane of any band, if they sound great on the disc you might be surprised to find out they suck ass live. We've all seen it happen in both instances and it has affected the way we look at the band either positively or negatively.    I can tell without ever having seen them the same is true of the band Loudlife. This is a band where to truly understand them and feel what they are bringing to the table you need to be there, watching Vocalist/Lyricist Lorraine Ferro sweat and writhe as she belts these songs out with her husky vibrato voice. Unfortunately considering I don't live in their home of New York City, which as I understand is the only place they have ever played one of their live shows, I have to judge based on their self-titled release.    Consisting of the vocal powerhouse of Ferro, Loudlife's other half lays within Guitarist Geoff Sobel who brings the riffs inspired from several genres of rock. Bassist Teddy Kumpel and Drummer Brian Dunne round out the rhythm seemingly only to provide a groundwork for Ferro and Sobel to dominate alternately. The first track, "Let Go of the Wheel" has a classic rock approach where the vocal introduction to Ferro makes you understand that whiskey and cigarettes can have a sexy effect. From there on the band seems to take you on a roadtrip through elements of rock, folk, and grunge using Ferro as the driver and Sobel as the car. My favorite song on the disc is track 9, "Turn the Page Over" because Sobel brings the crunch and Ferro almost has the ferocity of an early 90's Riot Grrl before bringing it back down again.    I just feel like I'm missing something here. The songs are well arranged, the driving guitar is perfectly suitable to the music, and Ferro can not only write a decent song but can really follow through with it with her amazing gravel voice, so what is missing? I believe wholeheartedly that whatever it is was lost on the way to the stage. As good as these songs are I can tell that they can never be truly great unless heard in person. The power of Ferro's voice is obvious on the CD but if I were to walk into a Loudlife show without knowing what I was in for, I can imagine I'd walk out thinking she had bewitched me into thinking she's the second coming of Grace Slick. There's a power to live shows that recordings can't capture and I believe that it's this power that Loudlife needs in order to truly be appreciated in the way they'd like to face the world.

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Published on: 2006-10-15 (666 reads)