Familiarity is both a gift and a curse. If something is too familiar it can run the risk of being tired or boring..on the other hand, if something is familiar with it's own little twist it can be comforting while still providing some of that (sort of) new new that we all crave.
When I was first made aware of Co-op Gold Pure Loaded Burger Kettle Cooked Potato Chips I was pretty excited. This excitement was based on 2 things; 1 - new Pure chip flavour 2 - the new flavour being 'loaded' from Covered Bridge..err, Co-op Gold Pure. If you've been reading this blog for a minute you might recognize Covered Bridge's Loaded Hot Dog popping up in 2016. Lets just say, they were bangin'. I had a sense of what I could expect with Loaded Burger (and CB stopped production of Loaded Hot Dog earlier this year)..now were my expectations met? Youbetcha! Loaded Burger is basically Loaded Hot Dog with some Montreal Steak Spice sprinkled on top (really, I think CB mixed their Loaded Hot Dog seasoning with their Montreal Steak Spice [also discontinued through CB's line of chips] seasoning and voila). Were they a new flavour? Technically no. Are they relatively easy to procure, somewhat familiar and bangin'? Yep. There's a bit of that bbq/steak spice heat (like a 2to3/10 on the chip heat scale). There's some of that mustard in the background and..well, they are a close approximation of a loaded burger. The chips are your standard CB/Pure with a good number of browns, skins and a medium crunch.
When Spanish Love Songs' Schmaltz came out in early 2018 it immediately hit my radar (I think it was via a Razorcake review..could have been DyingScene). I put it in my Bandcamp wishlist and listened to it until I couldn't listen on the app anymore without purchase. I really enjoyed the album, but for some reason I never pulled the trigger on purchasing it. Schmaltz stayed in the back of my mind..but at the same time got lost in the shuffle and I didn't listen to it for the next year and a half. Flash forward to Fall 2019. Rational Anthem announced that they were putting out a new album on AF-Records, of course I was going to pre-order it because new RatAnt album. Now being Canadian I almost always order at least 2 albums at a time because shipping is just ridiculous and I try to incrementally reduce the per record cost. In scrolling through the AF store I came across Schmaltz, I couldn't remember exactly what it sounded like but I remembered enjoying it so..add to basket, checkout..ding, new email with download before the LP arrives. Gee golly am I happy that I didn't let Spanish Love Songs beautiful album Schmaltz drift away into the shadows of past albums enjoyed but forgotten. Dylan Solocom's delivery is sort of a quivering croon drenched in conviction for the lyrics that he wrote while teetering between having a beer and having a breakdown. The lyrics are in the this life sucks but I guess I'm still standing here brand, there's an abundance of loss but he's not completely lost. The music is in the mid to up tempo rockpunk vein with a neuvoemo tilt. On more than one occasion I've googled the band to confirm that they're origin City didn't change and that they are in fact from LA and not from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Even knowing that there are no Scrantonites in the band, if you told me that there was a Barnett brother in the band I would believe you. To me Spanish Love Songs sounds like the love child of Captain We're Sinking and The Menzingers (I'm not sure if that love child would be a great idea now that I think about it, it'd be slightly incestual {though I guess this "love child" is more of a metaphor, I may be being a little too literal [there's something slightly Iron Chic to the lyrics for me as well]}). This isn't to say that they're a knockoff, Spanish Love Songs is their own band but dang they sound enchantingly familiar. I know that I'm going to end up working my way back to their debut album, but for the time being I'm just going to bask in the beauty of Schmaltz, I highly recommend that you do as well.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
When I was first made aware of Co-op Gold Pure Loaded Burger Kettle Cooked Potato Chips I was pretty excited. This excitement was based on 2 things; 1 - new Pure chip flavour 2 - the new flavour being 'loaded' from Covered Bridge..err, Co-op Gold Pure. If you've been reading this blog for a minute you might recognize Covered Bridge's Loaded Hot Dog popping up in 2016. Lets just say, they were bangin'. I had a sense of what I could expect with Loaded Burger (and CB stopped production of Loaded Hot Dog earlier this year)..now were my expectations met? Youbetcha! Loaded Burger is basically Loaded Hot Dog with some Montreal Steak Spice sprinkled on top (really, I think CB mixed their Loaded Hot Dog seasoning with their Montreal Steak Spice [also discontinued through CB's line of chips] seasoning and voila). Were they a new flavour? Technically no. Are they relatively easy to procure, somewhat familiar and bangin'? Yep. There's a bit of that bbq/steak spice heat (like a 2to3/10 on the chip heat scale). There's some of that mustard in the background and..well, they are a close approximation of a loaded burger. The chips are your standard CB/Pure with a good number of browns, skins and a medium crunch.
When Spanish Love Songs' Schmaltz came out in early 2018 it immediately hit my radar (I think it was via a Razorcake review..could have been DyingScene). I put it in my Bandcamp wishlist and listened to it until I couldn't listen on the app anymore without purchase. I really enjoyed the album, but for some reason I never pulled the trigger on purchasing it. Schmaltz stayed in the back of my mind..but at the same time got lost in the shuffle and I didn't listen to it for the next year and a half. Flash forward to Fall 2019. Rational Anthem announced that they were putting out a new album on AF-Records, of course I was going to pre-order it because new RatAnt album. Now being Canadian I almost always order at least 2 albums at a time because shipping is just ridiculous and I try to incrementally reduce the per record cost. In scrolling through the AF store I came across Schmaltz, I couldn't remember exactly what it sounded like but I remembered enjoying it so..add to basket, checkout..ding, new email with download before the LP arrives. Gee golly am I happy that I didn't let Spanish Love Songs beautiful album Schmaltz drift away into the shadows of past albums enjoyed but forgotten. Dylan Solocom's delivery is sort of a quivering croon drenched in conviction for the lyrics that he wrote while teetering between having a beer and having a breakdown. The lyrics are in the this life sucks but I guess I'm still standing here brand, there's an abundance of loss but he's not completely lost. The music is in the mid to up tempo rockpunk vein with a neuvoemo tilt. On more than one occasion I've googled the band to confirm that they're origin City didn't change and that they are in fact from LA and not from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Even knowing that there are no Scrantonites in the band, if you told me that there was a Barnett brother in the band I would believe you. To me Spanish Love Songs sounds like the love child of Captain We're Sinking and The Menzingers (I'm not sure if that love child would be a great idea now that I think about it, it'd be slightly incestual {though I guess this "love child" is more of a metaphor, I may be being a little too literal [there's something slightly Iron Chic to the lyrics for me as well]}). This isn't to say that they're a knockoff, Spanish Love Songs is their own band but dang they sound enchantingly familiar. I know that I'm going to end up working my way back to their debut album, but for the time being I'm just going to bask in the beauty of Schmaltz, I highly recommend that you do as well.
Stay hydrated,
Marc
Comments
Post a Comment