Artemis Records 751 081-2

Including the term "seed" in a band or album name is not necessarily such a
great notion. It implies that an idea might be lingering someplace, but has
yet to grow into a fully developed concept worth slowing down the car for.
Such
is the case with Love Seed Mama Jump and their new, self-titled release The
album starts on a sour tone with a loud power chord and the calling out of
the
hip-hoppish clichf "all right, alright". The music is brutally simple
and
pleasing to the ear. They honor a long tradition of four chord beauties
that lack complexity but still serve as well composed tunes. The main
problem across the board is the fact that many of the vocals are whiny and
boring, the lyrics predictable and unsatisfying.

To their credit, Love Seed Mama Jump doesn't bog down every tune with a
lengthy jam. They keep it short and sweet. In fact, most of their tunes come
in around three minutes, which is refreshing at a time when eighty minute
albums come parsed into four separate tracks of endless free funk jamming.

The album does have some highlights. One of them is the punk throwdown on
John Denver's "Country Roads". I am all about interpretive covers that span
genres and it is obvious that Love Seed Mama Jump tried this out one time
and
realized how well it worked. The bridge is surprisingly accurate and serene,
then it goes into the heavy metal stylings.

Some of the tunes blast back to mid-nineties "alternative" bands. Gin
Blossoms, Counting Crows and Toad the Wet Sprocket all are present in Love
Seed. In fact, the near nostalgia of the album is interesting because music,
particularly jamband music, hasn't sounded like this for a long time.
"Love Lies Here" gives room for a crunchy guitar solo that wanders freely up
the major scale. Moments like these remind listeners that that band is
comprised of good musicians who fall a little shy of creating their own
unique
sound.