Boxing in St. Louis will never die--not as long as Kenny Loehr has a kid in the ring.
South Florida's lawless exotic rental car industry keeps rolling.
In Texas, restitution for victims is nothing but a state-sanctioned sham.
If you thought Seattle couldn't fetishize coffee any more, you haven't been to a "cupping" yet.
"You say your name is Paul/I think you think it's Jesus," sings Loomer on "Bang the Nails," one of several cuts with underlying (however obscure) religious imagery. Elsewhere, Loomer's concerns turn to matters of the heart with equally metaphorical results. "I am just some old ice cream, all cold and hard and grainy/Hiding underneath the bread at the bottom of your freezer," Loomer sings on "Caramel Heart" as the band (especially keyboardist Mike Taylor) plays understatedly behind him.
Sounding like a beautiful amalgamation of the Gourds and Arcade Fire, Songs of the Wild West Island is a heady and heartening display of emotion and quiet intensity. Rarely settling for the norm, Loomer makes music of a distinct quality, songs that assess the past, present and future with equal apprehension.