Eugene Weekly : Music : 6.19.08

Soda Pop, Candy and Cigarettes
Some of Love That Dress’ favorite things
by Eric J. Weilbacher

Simply stand within a one-block radius while Love That Dress tears it up, and you’ll think they have it in their heads they can out-Who The Who. You don’t have to be in a venue while they’re performing to understand this. After their most recent show, the ringing in my ears lasted into the next morning, making me wonder why I didn’t pack earplugs; I knew what I was getting into. Nevertheless, Love That Dress is a combo of unusual precision and motivation with an offbeat, raucous desire to offend everyone’s high-decibel threshold.  

But this is no gimmick on their part. In a peculiar way, it seems to fit into their “no whining” ethos. Their influences are varied and apparent, but the comparison to the styles of The Velvet Underground as well as others in the ‘60s underground scene they emerged from, such as The Sonics, correlates with a serious Sonic Youth vibe and various post-punk/New Wave nuances. And this seems to work, as the band manages a phenomenal knack for interplay and improvisation with elasticity in the song structure. Scott Herscher’s mellow tenor-to-baritone voice often contrasts with that interplay and guitar fuzz in a Nick Cave manner.

Despite having played together for a short period of time, the band manages extemporaneous interaction, something thoroughly rooted in rock ’n’ roll tradition but rare in the modern rock and pop world. 

Fortunately, Love That Dress has not only begun a heavy rotation throughout the town’s venues — most recently keeping the competition at bay through the Last Band Standing competition at Taboo — but is also finally putting out a second EP, Soda Pop, Candy and Cigarettes. Though they originally intended to release an LP-length album, the band settled on the idea of another EP to compliment last year’s Said the Ocean to the Moon. Love That Dress is quite pleased with the shortlist of new material, and the band doesn’t shy away from cheeky self-promotion. “Some have claimed this is the best EP under 21 tracks,” says Herscher. It was clear at the time that the “some” was the band, for they were the only ones to have heard it thus far.

Love That Dress,  The Quick and Easy Boys, The Russians. 10 pm Saturday, June 21. Luckey’s • $5. 21+ show