Love Addict - Script For A Man

Love Addict

Script For A Man
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Love Addict is the solo creative music project for Shane Harrington. His recent release Script For A Man is an immediate onslaught of mayhem in the form of white noise, words and percussion. His music can be compared to bands like Lightning Bolt, Death from Above 1979, Liars and Blood Brothers. 

First off let me say I love the overall vibe and energy of these four songs. Impressively Harrington played every instrument, recorded and mixed the EP himself. It sounds live and Harrington doesn’t hold back in terms of delivery. My only gripe with the EP is that I was hoping the recording quality was a little better at times. 

If the quality were about equal to the albums of the aforementioned artists I think the songs would have been even more intense and unavoidable. I’m not talking about a glossy, overproduced top 40 album but a bit better then a bedroom recording. Recording quality aside the songs hold up as Harrington injects off-kilter ambiguous lyrical content into creative tones and textures that are too harsh for mainstream radio but fully appreciated by those who are willing to dig a bit deeper. 

First up is “Craving a JPEG,” which unloads with distorted bass, pounding drums and synths. He delivers with lyrics as if he is giving orders to an army brigade. He sings, “Amputate youth / Amputate your life / Fill this black cube / With all that brings you back to.” The song is sloppy and a little bit out of time but that's part of the allure. 

Harrington doesn’t let you relax with “#fearofintimacy.” The song has a similar type of energy to the album They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top by Liars. Around the two-minute mark the song gets sludgy and he takes a slight turn into post-rock territory. “Pushing Rope” is another solid tune but the closer “Hatred Tourism” was the highlight.

“Hatred Tourism” is bit more subdued at first but arguably the most infectious vocal performance. He sings, “Home, when the moved caved in / Death on the brow of my….” The second half of the song gets into engaging territory that combines reverb laced guitar with a rush of sounds.

The songs on Script For A Man would translate well live. I’m not sure how Harrington will do this but I think more than enough people would be interested in seeing this in concert. Script For A Man is far from perfect but it is a solid first showing of which I hope to hear more soon. 

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