Lures Press LURES REVIEWS I've been waiting for this one and I can tell you right now... It was well worth it. The Lures have once again managed to go into the studio and develop another great sound to follow up their debut, "When I Was Broken" album. "Dolores" is a thoughtful and coherent blend of sounds, harmonies and instruments bonded together, ready to draw you in and keep you for a while. The first track, "Surrounded By The Girl", is an interesting and smart tune, crafted in a style that echoes the work on The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" album. Acoustically driven, which is a departure from The Lures sound altogether, "Surrounded By the Girl" is a nice appetizer for the remaining album. You can't help but realize that this Athens group is growing musically and filling out nicely. The sound is becoming sharper with the lyrics developing clarity and more confidence. I would go so far as to say that this album has enormous potential for mainstream radio play. I would also say that mainstream wouldn't appreciate this album as many Lures fan would (also see, "When I Was Broken"). My notables for Dolores would have to be, "Surrounded By The Girl", "What She Wants" (GREAT TUNE!) and the title tracks, "Dolores1"/"Dolores2". This was a great venture from The Lures, taking me back to a similar group named "The Connells" who began taking the college scene by storm in the late '80's and 90's. I look for more great sounds (and chart makers) from these Athenians for years to come! -Grass Roots Entertainment One almost feels a little guilty listening to the new Lures album, the long-awaited Dolores. For a band that started as a songwriting project for singer-guitarist Jason Slatton, the record is, like the band's previous release When I Was Broken, an intensely personal document. Hell, it's almost like reading Slatton's diary, what with all the songs about girls who've dumped him, girls he did wrong or girls he couldn't get. Still, being a singer-songwriter hinges on the ability to make people give a damn about your little life, and Dolores does exactly that because, well, Slatton's songs are so good. That doesn't mean he's done it all on his own, however, and The Lures never feels like a "solo guy with nameless backing band" sorta thing. Second guitarist Russ Hallauer and Slatton meander around the minor-key pop-rock territory with plenty of ringing chords a la R.E.M. or early Byrds, and simple yet effective leads. Bassist Larry Tenner and drummer Clay Leverett make for a restrained but chugging rhythm section able to handle the different shifts in moods throughout the record. Dolores does indeed bounce around the sonic landscape a good bit, from the churning rocker "Best Thing" to the sprightly pop number "Consolation Prize" to the devastatingly beautiful piano ballad "Gone For Good." Still and all, Dolores - and by association The Lures - is held together by Slatton's sharp, cutting songs. His tales of broken love may be nothing new, but his skill with words and phrases keep the entire business from getting too hoaky. A high point of the record is the bouncing "What She Wants," a rollicking number that'd sound at home with Leverett's side band Lona, and one of the two (yes, two) title tracks, “Dolores 1,” reminds one of a leftover Paul Westerberg tune from 14 Songs. Overall, Dolores proves not only an enjoyable, engaging pop record, but it also connects with the listener on the most basic of levels. In short, we've all been hurt by love and we've all hurt ones we loved. The Lures just manage to vocalize it better than most of us... plus, I'm just a sucker for the ringing guitar. Someone give Slatton a hug, though; I think the boy needs one. -Flagpole Top 20 Local Releases of 1999: The Lures, When I Was Broken (Ten-23 Records). This superior debut finally cast this pop-rock band as a vital, focused unit with a firm grasp on the use of melody and on the dynamics and mechanics of songwriting. There's startling amount of personal material in lead singer Jason Slatton's lyrical work. Songs flow like a concise autobiography of a typically-idealistic young American who finds the strength and humor to emerge from pain with the same idealism and a little more wisdom. Collectively, the band strikes a balance between technical precision and loose energy, meandering through mostly minor-key progressions with an intermingling of clean and distorted guitar lines, memorable vocal melodies and rhythmic grind. This moves in more ways than one. (BL) -Flagpole When I Was Broken is an album that sounds like all of the other Ghostmeat albums funneled into one. Like Tony Tidwell, it's a nearly perfect album. It's definitely got a little punk and a little southern rock hidden in the background, but at its core, is a nucleus of classic alternative pop music. This is the stuff college folks drooled over in the early '80s when bands like R.E.M. were being roundly ignored by virtually every commercial music source in the country. Today, groups like the Goo Goo Dolls and Buffalo Tom are about the only ones who still get the sound right, and The Lures follow that tradition as well. "Million" is one of those great, slow, depressing alternative love songs that's driven by a twinkling guitar line, a slow loping bass, and simple harmonies. It is full and melodic. The lyrics are painful and touching. "Ordinary" shares the same simplicity with a slow 3/4 waltz. "Goner" is probably the stand out single of the album, and is featured on mp3 at http://www.ghostmeat.com. Lead singer Jason Slatton's touching and soft vocals soar above the nice, grinding guitars. -Consumable Online The Lures, a quartet based in Athens, Georgia, practice the tried-and-true Southern indie-rock method perfected by such veterans as Superchunk and, of course, the granddaddy of them all, R.E.M. When I Was Broken is like a familiar blanket of cozy rock that's been stitched with the guitar jangle from below the Mason Dixon Line. The quartet's driving tunes are energetic, honest and most importantly, unfettered by self-serving showiness. What saves The Lures from being just another rock band are their snazzy, boredom-evading time changes, which shake things up while remaining faithful to the song at hand. Such tracks as "One More Satellite" and "Ordinary" also prove the band's ballad mettle, not to mention its unexpected handle on lilting, doo-wop influenced vocal harmonies. -College Music Journal Have I reviewed The Lures before? If I have, I'm going to review them again because this "Not Coming Down" 7" (Ghostmeat Records, POB 54693, Atlanta, GA 30308) is so catchy and so familiar, you have to hear it over and over again. You know when you hear a song that you swear you know; where you're completely convinced it must be a cover of a song that you sang to yourself non-stop when you were but a lad (or lass, as the case may be). "Not Coming Down" is that song. With influences from Elvis Costello, Lennon-McCartney and The Replacements, The Lures have managed to combine all their best into this extremely radio friendly, sugar pop masterpiece. It's a shame the song is limited to a 7"… it's that good. The b-side, "Dashlight", takes on more of an Uncle Tupelo type country rock tinge. Though it's a good song in its own right, it is completely overshadowed by "Not Coming Down". Have I told you how great a song "Not Coming Down" is yet? -Campus Circle Ghostmeat Records has released a CD to accompany the forthcoming 1999 edition of the summer weekend event (the Athens Music & Arts Festival), AthFest 99 contains 18 different up-and-coming bands, among them Jucifer, Hayride, The Lures, Jack Logan and Wunderkind. -College Music Journal The Lures' "Goner" is a great pop song with a goofily sincere and memorable chorus. -Flagpole Though past shows have been unnecessarily volume-intensive, this set found the four well-groomed Lures taking care not to blast too loudly through their impressive, concise set of recent material. Their brand of pop always balances their rock sensitivity (well-executed vocal melodies and harmonies, singer Jason Slatton's goofy graciousness on the mic) with their punk rock heritage and rock aggressiveness (loud drum accents, clinched teeth solos and driving bass lines). They threaten politely, which makes sense, since they all used to play in weird post-punk bands. The standout songs of the set included the lovely pop gem "Not Coming Down" replete with a Beatles "oh no" at the end of each verse, the syncopated "When I Was Broken" and the happy-go-lucky "Dashlight" featuring Larry Tenner's catchy new wave bass line. They closed with a weird new song that sounded like The Melvins playing "Penny Lane." -Flagpole ... I feel it is misleading to suggest that these few groups represent the bulk of the Athens music scene. Their are hundreds of stylistically diverse local bands who play here regularly... Did Daley get around to hearing anything by Macha or Empire State?... Or the dynamic hard-rock duo Jucifer?... The loud pop-rock of the Lures?... -Alternative Press Eli and The Lures are two bands that pool the talents of musicians who have tested their mettle in countless other bands. Both of these bands proved the glory of this process, each playing energetic, thoughtful rock 'n' roll, urged on by old admirers and new initiates alike. -Ink 19 Oh, the happy, poppy feel of good guitar rock is such a great thing. The Lures have an awesome sound that takes from Elvis Costello and Material Issue, but unique and totally creative all the while. -Impact Press The best of that particular school (pop-rock) are represented by The Lures and their “Not Coming Down.” The band’s harmonies are infectious. -Flagpole The Lures “Not Coming Down” b/w “Dashlight” 7” is two songs played in a pure pop style similar to The Lillys and ex-label mates Sunbrain. Fairly guitar driven with even better harmonies. “Not Coming Down” is the standout of the two. -Under the Volcano The Lures (Ghostmeat Records CEO Russ Hallauer’s new band) contribute the subdued, almost mournful minimalist pop of “Million” to the All About Numbers compilation which is well-matched to the drowsy, drug-like stupor of OPM’s “Slouches. -Creative Loafing All put their best foot forward on the AthFest ‘98 compilation. Notable tracks come from veterans like Vic Chesnutt, Man Or Astroman?, Vigilantes Of Love, Five Eight and Servotron, but other great material is supplied by Alex Marquez, Loveapple, The Fountains, Vaudeville and The Lures. -The Fritz Online The Lures’ roots-rock sound fits right in with charting bands such as Wilco and Son Volt, and maybe 80’s southern college-rockers Dumptruck. The opening cut, “Break Me,” is an infectious straight-ahead rock song on the par with current stuff by either of those Uncle Tupelo-spawned bands. This is a great new band you shouldn't miss the next time they come around. -It’s The Music Stupid LURES INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES Local Lures Celebrate New Album Before Taking To The Road The Lures Grow Up The Lures Have A Date With Dolores Back From Limbo When I Was Broken in Flagpole Magazine's Top 20 Albums of 1999. Here Comes A Regular: Scene Vets The Lures Celebrate Their Debut Release The Lures: A Different Kind Of Tension
-Outback
-Smug
(Letters to the Editor)
by Jonathan Reed
Red And Black Newspaper- 1/19/01
by Sarah Lee
Marquee Magazine- 1/18/01
by Ballard Lesemann
Flagpole, 1/17/01
by Nicki Hendrix
Marquee Magazine- 7/29/99
by Ballard Lesemann
Flagpole- 7/28/99
by Richard Fausset
Flagpole- 9/23/98
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