On their self-titled 1982 debut,
Love Tractor sounded a bit like Athens, Georgia's new wave response to
the Ventures. It was the work of a lively all-instrumental outfit whose nervy but joyous fusion of surf guitars, jangle pop, no-frills melodies, and dance-friendly rhythms suggested they were the playful little brothers to fellow Athens residents
Pylon. A year later, their second LP,
Around the Bend, captured the band as they and their songs were evolving.
Love Tractor were learning to make more active use of the studio, and the songs on
Around the Bend incorporate additional guitar overdubs, keyboards, and even flashes of banjo and clarinet, filling out the sound while also exploring the musical space around them; the result is an album more atmospheric and ambitious than their debut.
Around the Bend also marked the point where
Love Tractor lost their fear of singing. Though most of the tracks are still instrumentals, "Spin Your Partner" is a delightful country-infused number that is lifted up by its minimalist vocals, and "J.E.B. Pharaohs" similarly benefits from some brief vocal interjections. While only one song on
Love Tractor broke the four-minute mark, four tunes on
Around the Bend run five minutes or more, and the musicians --
Michael Richmond on guitar;
Mark Cline on guitar, banjo, and bass;
Armistead Wellford on guitar, bass, and keyboards; and
Kit Swartz on drums -- seem keenly interested in bouncing ideas off one another and expanding the band's sonic palette. What they're doing doesn't exactly feel like jamming, but it's noticeably more abstract and challenging than their first LP, and it's not always as immediately pleasurable. Give
Around the Bend a few spins, though, let it soak in, and it reveals itself to contain plenty of musical experiments that are entirely fun and successful, and no
Love Tractor fan should be without an album that includes "Spin Your Partner." ~ Mark Deming
