Taking what seems like years, in fact almost two, to come out on the shores of the United States, The (International) Noise Conspiracy's latest album Armed Love unleashes our daily dose of revolutionary approved rock-n-roll. This album has been maligned by critics and fans alike and seems to have an incredible polarizing effect on its listeners. People either love or hate this foot stomping collection of songs.
Admittedly Armed Love is not as good as Survival Sickness and is even more polished than A New Morning, Changing Weather. Flat out, the production is top notch on this bugger, which is almost to be expected with Rick Rubin serving as the producer, his first time with The (International) Noise Conspiracy.
After losing Sara, the keyboardist, as a regular member, it would have been logical to have a record with more subtle keyboards. But, with several session players, including Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame, Armed Love is rich with excellently placed key accents and melodies. It will be interesting to see how The (International) Noise Conspiracy pulls this record off live.
In all honesty this record has a few great songs. "Black Mask", the album opener, is quite the upbeat rock-the-socks-off type song. "Landslide" has an incredibly catchy sing-along vibe to it that should have audiences clapping and singing along in no time. "A Small Demand" is what may arguably be the finest song that this outfit has ever committed to wax, plastic, tape, etc... It is a finely crafted, roiling piece of rock-n-roll bombast that makes the album well worth checking out. However, songs like "This Side of Heaven", "All in All", and "The Dream is Over" are definite clunkers that kill the otherwise rocking beat and really sap a lot of the gains that the band made on Armed Love.
Being that the US release was so far behind the European release, there are two bonus tracks included, which is a giant annoyance for anyone who could not wait and acquired the import version of this record. These songs are okay but do not add anything groundbreaking to the album. The artwork on the US version is more user friendly but aesthetically inferior to the European version. The tracking arrangement is in a different order, which makes listening to the album kind of weird. Basically, if you have the European version, do not waste your time or hard-earned cash on the US release.
Still, it is absolutely mind-boggling the manner in which the detractor camp of listeners so berate the album. Armed Love is a solid record with some high peaks and low valleys that is well worth the listen. Hell, "A Small Demand" is a brilliantly roaring track that is incredibly infectious and the whole reason that I am giving this record a 7 rating instead of a 5. Check it out and make up your own mind.
