The Von Bondies
Love Hate And Then There's You
Release Date: Feb 3, 2009
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Record label: Majordomo
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Album Review: Love Hate And Then There's You by The Von Bondies
Satisfactory, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
The Von Bondies returned with Love Hate and Then Theres You several lineup changes and nearly five years after the release of Pawn Shoppe Heart -- virtually a lifetime later in terms of musical trends. Interest in the garage rock revival of the early 2000s had already peaked when Pawn Shoppe Heart arrived in 2004, but the Von Bondies scored a genuine hit (and future theme song for the TV show Rescue Me) with "C'mon C'mon," the album's most inspired and urgent moment. Although nothing on Love Hate and Then Theres You quite lives up to "C'mon C'mon," that song's passion and driving riffs provide the template for most of this album.
Based on rating 6/10
In 2004, the Von Bondies earned themselves a slot in Rykodisc’s eventual Grandchildren of Nuggets box set of post-millennial garage rock with the undeniable “C’mon C’mon” off their breakthrough-bid Pawn Shoppe Heart (the tune also earned them a fat stack of royalty checks from FX’s Rescue Me and ESPN), then quickly slid off the cultural radar, with most people remembering frontman Jason Stollsteimer as The Dude Jack White Beat Up for Talking Shit. Pawn Shoppe Heart has its admirers (this writer included), but even the closest devotees of Motor City garage had to be surprised when the Winter 2009 album release charts noted “Von Bondies - Love, Hate and Then There’s You (Majordomo) - 3 February 2009”. The irony (?) is that during this lengthy hiatus very little has changed in the modern rock world: the continuum still runs from the classicist White Stripes to the (for better or worse) forward-looking Killers, and all the Von Bondies have done is align themselves less with Jack and Meg and more with Brandon Flowers and co.
Based on rating 2/5
It'll take more than getting punched out by Jack White and dropped by his record label to stop Jason Stollsteimer from foisting his mediocre music on the public. The only people certain to make a profit from the release of this long-delayed album are the shrewd entrepreneurs behind the "I Beat Up Jason Stollsteimer" T-shirts. [rssbreak] Love, Hate And Then There's You isn't entirely devoid of entertainment value - Stollsteimer's misguided attempts to replicate the successful sound of the Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes and other alt-rock radio staples at the time these songs were conceived turns out to be quite funny, however unintentional the humour.