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love_assembly

Love Assembly

Synthpop
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Love Assembly was a synth-pop comparable to Depeche Mode and Cause & Effect. According to one source, they were in negotiation with Blonde Vinyl Records before the label fizzed out.

Discography

1991 All the Pain / You
1992 Urgency of Now

All the Pain / You

1991 Independent

Collin Rowland
Sven Menninger
D. Arps
C. Fee

  1. All the Pain
  2. You

Urgency of Now

1992 Independent

Collin Rowland
Sven Menninger

  1. Inside (4:18)
  2. All the Pain (4:16)
  3. In Your World Again (3:59)
  4. Learn to Feel (4:29)
  5. Sense of Urgency (5:01)
  6. You (3:07)
  7. Onward (3:56)
  8. The World (4:36)

“When I was first introduced to Christian music back in the early nineties, one of the first things I looked for was a Christian band that sounded like secular synth-pop giants Depeche Mode. After a few disappointments, this search ended when I found this indie album by Ohio band Love Assembly. From the moody, British-sounding vocals to the futuristic synths, this band has Depeche Mode's influence heavily represented throughout.

One notable difference between Love Assembly and their secular counterpart is the content of the message. While Urgency of Now explores some dark lyrical territory, they always remind the listener that their hope lies in the salvation of Jesus Christ, which is something Depeche Mode never does. Three of the album's tracks, “Inside”, “In Your World”, and “All The Pain”, are songs about Christ reaching out to a heartbroken person. “All The Pain” was included on the Voice of the People compilation.

My personal favorite song on Urgency of Now is the synth-pop ballad “Learn To Feel”. In addition to the band's trademark moody vocals, this song also features samples of speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and Ronald Reagan as well as slow, haunting synth music. Together, these effects give the listener a sense of forboding, as if something apocalyptic is about to occur.

This feeling of impending disaster continues with the faster “Sense of Urgency”. “You”, meanwhile, is a bit more upbeat and offers the listener a solution to this bleak future by accepting Jesus Christ. Although it is not a cover of the classic hymn, “Onward” was clearly inspired by that timeless song and even includes the line “onward Christian soldier” as well as a unique rap on the bridge. Finally, the forboding mood of the earlier songs returns with a vengeance on the mid-tempo “World”, which is the last song on the album.

Being an indie that was made many years ago, Urgency of Now is probably now very hard to find. Nonetheless, it is a dream come true for Depeche Mode fans who are fed up with that bands despair and godless nihilism.”

- James McGinnis (http://ballistictest.flamingfish.com/btz_old_reviews/la-uon.html)


love_assembly.txt · Last modified: 2020/08/28 16:07 by admin