If you cast your eyes over photographs of Alabama's La Resistance, all serious looks, leather jackets and carefully posed rockstar imagery, you'd be forgiven for thinking their music would follow suit and be a cooler-than-thou mix of studied alt-rock distortion and try-hard hipster styling (hello there The Kills), but, to put it bluntly, the collars and the cuffs don't match. Formed by Greg Summerlin, veteran of several solo albums, the trio of La Resistance came into being a couple of years back and cite Echo & Tne Bunnymen, Joy Division, Gang Of Four and The Jesus & Mary Chain amongst their influences. So far so post-punk and moody. Their debut album 'Philosophy' arrived last year and from it is new single 'Loathing' which displays a rather warmer vibe than the ice-cold chic you may expect.
Sure you can pick out those influences in this song, the rumbling bass line, the new-wavey guitars, the snapping drums of the chorus; yet 'Loathing', despite its title, is wonderfully poppy and light. Not in a flimsy or twee manner, it's still distinctly alt-rock, but is piled high with melody and the simplest of guitar solos that makes the song soar. The refrain of "I loathe it all" is sung so euphorically that you could easily substitute "loathe" for "love" and it would fit just as well. It really is a quite majestic and lovable track that seems at odds with they imagery and inspiration the band choose. I guess you could say they're like baked Alaska in reverse. The outside may be cold, but break through the shell and they're warm and inviting at heart.
La Resistance's website
Buy the single
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