The Love Load

As a rush of riffs chug and snarl by means of introduction backed by a fist pounding beat that begs for accompaniment, it is instantly clear that The Love Load are a band that are going for the jugular. The Washington D.C three piece manage to wield a mighty blend of punk meets indie with hooks that would make pop tracks jealous and with their latest album, "The Human Resourceful", the trio are taking no prisoners.

Opening with title track, 'The Human Resourceful', The Love Load waste no time in bringing out the big guns. With heavy sleaze fuelled riffs that pound through the body, The Love Load grab you straight away but it is the addition of Ted Watts vocals that really pull the trio together. With hints of The White Strips' Jack White mingling with a Dave Grohl gruffness and even a nod to Joe Strummer complete with passion ridden vocals, Watts brings a special something to the table that helps the three piece instantly stand out from other bands. From the punk riot of 'Crisis' complete with a mind bending epic conclusion, to the reflective sombre stance of 'We Are Going Out To Nice', "The Human Resourceful" highlights how far from one dimensional The Love Load are; they are more than a mere punk band instead able to offer a mature, contemplative sound that will draw you in whilst still retaining the excitement and fervour. Although the hook laden 'Candy Dish' may be able to snare a younger audience, there is a sense that The Love Load are a band that will be more in tune with those who are old enough to realise that Green Day's "American Idiot" wasn't the first punk album even written and as such "The Human Resourceful" may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who preserve, the rewards are plentiful.

This is the type of music that needs cranking up, that demands you nod along and that might even have you breaking out some dance moves. With an indie vibe nestled throughout the album, "The Human Resourceful" manages to avoid the mine field of becoming stale; the trio may have a punk rock heart but they allow a range of genres to sweep through the album, bringing a little something new to each track and whilst some songs may need a repeat listen before they really seep into the soul, it doesn't hurt to hear The Love Load more than once. - Room 13

Logging in at just over 33 minutes the CD kicks off into high gear with solid garage rock vibe beat, “The Human Resourceful” a hard hitting, psychedelic guitar groove against emotionally charged vocals, & well placed harmonies & hooky chorus by Watts. Track 2 “Crisis” serves up another solid low end groove, with hard punk rock musical flow coupled with hooky vocal accents from Watts. Track 3 “The Sun” keeps things moving in the right direction with its pulsating rock groove meshed with an infectious vocal melody that flows & ebbs its way through emotional fruition. The CD makes a solid first impression dishing out 3 solid songs in a row. As the CD unfolds I can hear many musical influences reminiscent of White Stripes, Weezer & The Foo Fighters & even brief splashes of The Toadies, Black Sabbath & classic Ramones. Right from the start you will notice Watts & company feel quite comfortable just letting it all hang out musically, not holding anything back. The overall musical vibe has a nice psychedelic, raw indie feel to it. Watts guitar playing is rock solid across the board as he dishes out impressive rhythm guitar licks. Equally as impressive is Watt’s vocal presence & thought provoking lyrics as he takes several vocal risks thought the CD indicating to me a strong & confident vocal ability. Watts voice works & ss packed to the hilt with passion, & recklessness abandon. Watts has got the voice & plays guitar well. If he just so happened to write all these songs – well that pretty much makes him a musical triple threat. The musicianship from all the other members in the band is above the bar & has everything you would expect from a standard 3 piece delivery. Kudos goes out to drummer Azzarra with some amazing chops as he pushes the natural accents extremely well. Watts clearly makes the (singer to listener) vocal connection with his singing. The songs themselves are short & sweet musical experiences, each one possessing unique personality, flair, & signature groove. From dynamic “We are Going Out to Nice” to slow slithering instrumentals “Pain” & “Birth” to hard hitting “Candy Dish” to hypnotic “Nervous Alligator” this CD pretty much has something for just about everyone. The CD Ends with classic Kinks cover “No More Looking Back.” At 33 minutes the CD is a bit short. It’s fair to say 3-5 more songs would make the CD even better. I want to hear even more emotionally changed screams out of Watts on a few of the songs. I mean screams, you know THE ONES THAT MAKE THE HAIR STAND UP ON THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD type screams. This would make the catalogue even more powerful & dark.
The Human Resourceful by The Love Load is a rock solid statement from start to finish. Song for song, note for note it never really lets it’s guard down. It just has a rock solid, full tilt indie rock groove to it that is highly original & unpredictable in nature. Some songs are dark, other psychedelic other hard hitting – all short & sweet musical statements. It’s strong suit – the song for song rock solid consistency & rock solid vocal presence of lead singer Watts Like the aforementioned he is a musical triple threat & should be considered a premier talent within the band. Let’s just hope his head doesn’t ever catch up with his talent is any time soon. If The Love Load has a slam dunk live presentation then they would be the band to watch in 2011. No doubt they are a lot of fun to check out live. So if you like college alternative rock that dishes out a hard hitting punk rock edge then you should jump into this CD head first. - Indie Music Digest

The Love Load is the musical meeting of three minds: Guitarist and Songwriter Ted Watts, Virtuoso Drummer Ben Azzara and Producer Blaine Misner providing additional guitar and percussion. Recorded in 2010 at the impressively equipped Cue Recording facility in Falls Church, Virginia, USA. This 33 minute mini-album kicks off with “The Human Resourceful” a balls-out punk inspired anthem, which really rocks. Right from the start this upbeat modern day Sex Pistols packs a real punch. With its low-fi vocal rant, delivering a catchy bohemian-esque lyric and setting out The Love Load’s stall for what’s to come. Track 2 “Crisis” tips a nod towards Weezer and I can hear influences from American punk and its British counterparts providing some nostalgic flavours and interesting colours. Some of the sustained vocal notes wobble in pitch putting me in mind of Jilted John and proving that Britpunk is certainly not dead! By the time we reach the third song its clear what The Love Load are all about as we settle into a choppy punked up ditty complete with off beat chords and hooky chorus “I blame the Sun, she can’t blame me / I blame everyone but me”. Right on cue for the fourth track, an acoustic guitar and chant from a young guest vocalist provides a little break before the band launch into “We are going out to Nice”. This has a ballad-style quality and Ted’s vocal here comes across as both tense and mildly psychotic – reminding me of David Byrne. They turn their backs on conventional song formats with an incredible breakdown in the middle, switch-blading the mood before coming back with a solo’d verse and finale. Perhaps my favourite track is the extremely poignant and emotive “Pain” This psycho-ambient mind-fuck is both avant garde and contemporary. It is so original that it is impossible to pigeonhole or suggest comparisons, so it gets a massive thumbs up from me! From this point the album takes a turn with Nervous Alligator providing more thought-provoking imagery, creativity and originality. The penultimate track, “Birth” displays real sensitivity and effectively demonstrates yet another facet to the tenacious talent of this trio. Azzara’s delicate brush-work and Watt’s melodic guitar cycles proves how far music can speak to you – even without vocals! As if by way of an encore The Love Load come back with another surpise offering. A Kinks classic given their own punkish treatment, with Watts’ vocal starting to sound a lot like REM’s Michael Stipe. The production is very crisp and clean, especially the drums. In terms of guitars, it is evident that these have been carefully thought out within each arrangement and this really shows off both Watt’s and Misner’s guitar versatility. Although the mastering levels have been pushed to the max, the sound quality does not seem to have been compromised too far. This may be down to the expertise of the mastering studio but its probably helped in part by the thoughtfully worked out running order, breaking up some of the louder tracks with contrast and more dynamic pieces. Initially Watt’s voice frustrated me as I couldn’t decide if he was deliberately trying to sound like he was struggling with some of the vocal work (as part of the style) or if he lacked experience and stamina in the role of vocalist. It’s as though an accomplished musician, frustrated with a lack of vocalist – decided to have a go himself. If that’s the case then with some vocal coaching and some practice, the vocal sound could be improved and brought up to the standard of the rest of the music. With a little development here, the next Love Load offering could very well be “World Class”. On the whole, this is an amazing debut recording. The chemistry is very much apparent and with Ted Watts providing guitar, bass and vocals, not to mention writing and arranging, they manage to pull off the illusion of being a full live band - taking their songs into the studio, very well indeed. The standard of musicianship and arrangements are exceptional and I can see this mini-album staying on my iPod for a long time to come. If you’re looking for a power-punk trio with an incredible musical lineage, carefully building on the punk genre’s traditions to outshine some of the ultra-commercial garbage that’s in the charts at the moment, then the Love-load are the band for you!! I can imagine great things ahead for Watts and Company and I very much look forward to hearing their next recording. - Altsounds

Over the years we’ve seen punk, hard rock & even alternative rock bands slowly erode into over-commercialized, corporate puppet shows. Talking to many music fans out there, the response is overwhelming. Give me something new, something raw, something that’s pushes hard & is going to kick me in he ass. Something that doesn’t sound like – well Nikelback. Give me band similar to The White Stripes, Nirvana, Foo Fighters with a jagged edge, a bloody tip & a no holes barred musical delivery. Give me something real! So across my desk slides the new CD by D.C.’s own The Love Load entitled The Human Resourceful headed up by guitarist/singer/songwriter Ted Watts. What I heard put a smile on my face, finally a band that gets it. The Human Resourceful is some of the best new music I’ve heard in quite a while & delivers many of the aforementioned items I spoke about. You want hard rock, you want punk, you want music that is packed to the hilt with high adrenalin? Well look no further. This CD covers all the bases delivering solid playing & amazing songwriting & a musical flair that just lets it all hang out. The Human Resourceful by The Love Load is what we’ve all been waiting for. It’s a polished sounding musical production from start to finish served up hot with great playing, solid writing, & a jagged edge musical delivery. It’s definitely a musical production that gives us a fresh glimpse at a hot new band but takes us back a few years – before everything started sounding like – well Nikelback. - Scope Magazine

The Artist I recently checked out the latest CD from Washington D.C's The Love Load entitled The Human Resourceful. Band members include Ted Watts - Guitars, Bass & Vocals, Ben Azzara - Drums, Blaine Misner – Guitars & Percussion. CD was produced by Nicole Frost. The band I would say this band possesses average to intermediate playing abilities & above average songwriting. Timing seems to be spot on within the dark alternative rock grooves. Band leader Watts manages to hold his head above water on vocals & pulls it off well. The music The music possesses a dark punk rock stigma to it but is highly Alternative within it's predominantly rock foundation. Lyrical content is a big mystery wrapped up inside a even bigger enigma. The songs All pieces strike the prefect balance between dark alternative rock & even hard rock, & with just a dash of punk. The songs themselves are clearly above average even flirt with brilliant. My favorite song on the CD is hands down the title track. The vibe simply put - it's a dark record but dishes out a high adrenalin vibe. The songs are fascinating & captivating delivering up dark, unpredictable, melancholy music that & highly original. The production is professional grade - though I gave The Love Load low marks here because it feels more like an EP than a full length CD. The good Honorable mentions go out to Watts for not being afraid to let it all hang out musically. Watts is not trying to be some popish artist striving for mass appeal, instead he is clearly being himself. In this world of overly corporate entertainment Ted Watts & company stand out from other artists & Should be considered a marquee talent within this band. Other positive aspects include rock solid mix & a good recording quality. Definitely a band you can groove to. Cover art matches the catalogue - dark, mysterious & Trippy. The bad Just 33 minutes? Feels like an EP. The ugly I know you got a few more songs up your sleeve guys. The verdict The Human Resourceful by The Love Load entitled is a very entertaining CD - end of subject. The songwriting - clearly above average & strongly personifies the Human condition. If your in a dark mood, this CD will only put more dark thoughts into your head. Fans of tripped out Alternative Rock with s punk rock twang will love this one. Ted Watts is clearly a musical mastermind. The Bottom Line If you are looking for dark & trippy music to push you even further into the abyss - look no further. The Love Load is here. - Indieshark

The drums would fill a stadium. The guitars are so heavy that they must be made of depleted uranium. The singer’s pitch wavers so much that he would be the perfect advert for autotuning. There’s a post punk square peg in a round hole vibe that would suggest a haunting by Joe Strummer. Hell, there’s even a kid reciting something or other on one of the songs. What is the Love Load up to here? If only I knew. The facts indicate a collaboration between three twisted souls – Ben Azzara, Ted Watts and Blaine Misner – with the intention to confuse. It is almost fashionabkle these days to have psych-pop influences but, in truth, bands taking that path rarely rise about the level of a pastiche. The Love Load, on the other hand, just plain mess with your head. Take “Nervous Alligator” as an example, you can only imagine the madness that can twist metaphors around alienation. One thing is for certain - you’ve got to pay attention here as even in calm conventionality of the instrumental “Birth”, something unsettling lurks just beneath the surface. I reckon that “The Human Resourceful” is the concept album revisited, a revolution against plastic music and an offbeat off Broadway musical all in one. These days, it is just not normal to make the listener work this hard but perhaps that is the point but I, for one, am glad that there are still bands out there who play for more than their own fragrance range. Long live The Love Load! - Bluesbunny