The Loons

Love’s Dead Leaves (Get Hip)
by Jon Sarre

The production’s the real star here. Ebbot Lundberg of Soundtrack of Our Lives flew in and recorded ’60s psychedelic revivalists The Loons and then went back to Sweden and added extra instrumental overdubs (harmonica, harpsichord, autoharp, sitar, organ, et al). Lundberg’s arrangement job here is worthy of Jack Nitzche or an only somewhat mentally-impaired Brian Wilson. Echo is everywhere, exploding out of the speakers, trippy effects bounce through the mix. Harmonies and backing “oohs” float through pretty numbers like “Thursday’s Child” and garaged rockers like “Not the Same Girl.” I’m sorta wondering just what the original rough mix sounded like (as well as what the band might’ve thought when they heard the finalized version). Ah hell, it’s probably better this way.
(PO Box 666 Canonsburg, PA 15317)