Good Morning!
Today we’re listening to “Aloe” by Local Drags
Living in a place where the air can kill you can be weird.
It also breeds an odd sense of resilience that people on the coasts don’t always get. It’s a flyover country version of stoicism (with a lot less broetry). It’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it. It is also about being unpretentious and unassuming, and also strangely optimistic.
It’s -35, but hey, it could be worse!
Similarly, defining a Midwest power pop sound can be hard- but you know it when you hear it. Obviously, many bands went to the Westerberg Finishing School—and you can tell, even if you can’t quite articulate why. Bands like Soul Asylum and The Dead Century make records that, in many ways, could only be made in Minneapolis.
Expanding that circle out to Illinois, a band like Cheap Trick could only be from Illinois. The same holds for Springfield’s Local Drags. The band is really the brainchild project of Lanny Durbin—who readers may know from Starter Jackets— and every note on Aloe feels midwestern (Twitter bio: “Midwest power pop or whatever”)
The track’s compelling riff definitely pays homage to The Replacements, while the vocals feel very Pirner-esque to my ear. Like the corn fields surrounding Springfield, everything is beautifully arranged, there’s just the right amount of jangle, and your ear will tell you there’s just enough nasally tone to peg it as from the Central time zone.
Power pop is often happy songs about unhappy things. Like everything else on the Mess of Everything LP, there’s a cause for alarm, but also a ray of hope.
Everything might be going sideways, but it’s not as bad as it could be. This is, after all, the same band that put out an LP called “Shit’s Lookin’ Up.”
Songs like Aloe definitely make you feel that way.
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Mess Of Everything marks a new step in Durbin’s career. It’s not a giant leap, this still very much is a Local Drags LP. But it is noticeably different from Keep Me Glued and Shit’s Looking Up. Like the artwork, Mess Of Everything is more abstract, more colorful, and less easy to grasp in a couple of listens. While Durbin draws from a punkrock lineage, he has created something contemporary and fresh without losing any of his melodic touch.
Click here to read the rest of the album review.
Listen:
“Aloe” by Local Drags | Mess Of Everything, 2023
Click the record to listen on the platform of your choice.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this track!
Thanks for being here,
Kevin—
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Good stuff, if a little "basic," as Anna Delvey might say...will listen to the album, though!
Great band!