The Lemonheads Love Chant
The Lemonheads's Love Chant arrives as a restless, often rewarding record that blends punk bite with power-pop melody and a streak of adventurous experimentation. Across professional reviews, critics point to moments of redemption and renewal where Evan Dando's oddball instincts and the band's collaborative impulses yield the album's most compelling moments. With a 70/100 consensus score across 2 professional reviews, the critical reception skews positive but acknowledges uneven ambition throughout the collection.
Critics consistently praise standout tracks as proof that Love Chant can still land memorable hooks and thrilling guitar work. Reviewers singled out Deep End for its explosive, bouncing guitar rock and J Mascis-tinged solos, and named The Key of Victory and Cell Phone Blues among the best songs on Love Chant. The opener 58 Second Song and the title track also emerge in multiple reviews as highlight moments where nostalgia and genre-shifting risks pay off. Across both professional reviews, praise centers on muscular playing, guest musicianship, and Dando's willingness to change gears midstream rather than chase tidy repetition.
That said, critics note unevenness - throwaways and outliers temper the highs, making the record feel ambitious but not always fully realized. The consensus suggests Love Chant is worth listening to for its standout tracks and adventurous spirit, offering a partial return to form that rewards repeated listens even as it frustrates at times. Below, detailed reviews unpack where the album shines and where its reach exceeds its grasp.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Cell Phone Blues
1 mention
"It’s easily one of the record’s standout tracks."— Glide Magazine
Deep End
2 mentions
"“Deep End” is faster with heavier guitar and sounds like it could have fit nicely on an earlier record"— Glide Magazine
58 Second Song
1 mention
"Love Chant opens on “58 Second Song,” a fun power pop number bolstered with a swing beat"— Glide Magazine
It’s easily one of the record’s standout tracks.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
58 Second Song
Deep End
In the Margin
Wild Thing
Be-In
Cell Phone Blues
Togetherness Is All I'm After
Marauders
Love Chant
The Key of Victory
Roky
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 2 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Evan Dando steers The Lemonheads through a deliberately unruly set on Love Chant, and the review keeps returning to the record's best tracks - notably Deep End and the title track Love Chant - as moments where his oddball instincts pay off. The writer’s voice privileges curiosity over polish, praising how Deep End explodes into bouncing guitar rock while the title track channels abrasive repetition like the Replacements covering Neu!. The piece frames these songs as highlights because they crystallize Dando’s willingness to change gears midstream and favor adventurous ideas over safe nostalgia. The overall tone is measured but warm, suggesting that the best tracks on Love Chant reward repeated listens rather than instant gratification.
Key Points
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The best song, Deep End, succeeds because its bouncing, explosive guitar rock channels Dando's melodic instincts into an immediate thrill.
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The album's core strength is adventurous, genre-shifting experimentation that rewards repeated listens despite uneven execution.
Themes
Critic's Take
The Lemonheads return with Love Chant, an album that folds their punk past into tuneful power-pop, and the best songs - notably Cell Phone Blues and The Key of Victory - show why the band still matters. The review’s voice lingers on muscular guitar work and guest turns, especially J Mascis’s blistering solos that punctuate tracks like Deep End and The Key of Victory. There are throwaways and outliers, but songs such as Cell Phone Blues and the infectious opener 58 Second Song make clear which are the best tracks on Love Chant and why repeated listens reward the listener.
Key Points
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“Cell Phone Blues” is the best song because it is described as a lively singalong and a clear standout.
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The album’s core strength is its impressive blending of punk energy and melodic power-pop, buoyed by guest guitar work.