Interlude
I’ll take a moment to advocate a much-overlooked band of great ability, Black Lab. I only own Your Body Above Me, but I would gladly look into anything else they made. Black Lab for me creates a sort of bridge between the sad-pop feel of the Gin Blossoms and the pain of a Stabbing Westward without all the vitriolic anger.
You don’t just hear “I love you more than I should / I wrap my heart in bands of rosewood” on the street from day to day, and the poetry in there is pretty poignant once you get used to listening for it. It’s a subtle album, and it doesn’t drink smoothly the first few times. The biggest issue here is the spikey feel of the opening, which starts with the radio hit “Wash It Away” and connects with the other popular success “Time Ago” by way of the much less accessible “She Loves Me” and “X-Ray.”
“Time Ago” would probably be on my all-time top 20 songs list, so it’s hard to get all the way through the very minimalistic, bass-heavy “She Loves Me” without getting a little fidgety. That’s a personal problem for me, though. But the track has spilled over from “Wash It Away” so many times I have come to consider it a favorite on the album. “X-Ray” has had a similar path.
If I had to use a word to describe Black Lab I would say “dramatic” and then request permission to add a second word to make it “tastefully dramatic.”
As an aside, I think almost any art should be described using only two words before dismissing or accepting it. One of those two words should not include “post-” for best results.
They’re one of the few bands I would consider quotable, leaving little gems hidden in the lyrics to find slowly, with many listens.
Wine gets better with age, but I would say a fine bottle of ale gets better with drinking. Black Lab is kind of a fine ale. It’s dark, a little bitter, but if you give it a chance you might be able to call it “chocolatey” or something and impress your friends.