Soul Rash

Description

Soul Rash is the debut album by the American alternative rock band Love Coma, released on Etcetera Records in 1993. (Originally a cassette-only album self-released by the band in 1992 with a different track order.) The album was recorded by Donnie Meals with Meals and the band producing.

Love Coma features Chris Taylor on lead vocals and guitar, Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer fame on guitar (“all space and flying guitars”) and cello, and a rhythm section consisting of Jeff Duncan on bass and Chris Dodds on drums.

The rising access and availability for independent acts to release their own recordings on compact disc can be, in many cases, a negative thing. There are a myriad of examples of releases sitting in CD racks in homes everywhere containing music not worthy of the $15 cost. But the same opportunity gives those artists that are ready, musically and lyrically, a better forum to get that elusive “big break.”

Place Love Coma in the second group. The band originally released ‘Soul Rash’ on cassette in late 1992 to a receptive underground – the mix of funk and groove-oriented alternative rock struck the right cord. The tape led to an appearance at the Cornerstone ’93 festival New Band Showcase, and now the independent Etcetera Records has repackaged and released ‘Soul Rash’ to the general public.

The parallels between the Austin, Texas-based group and another widely respected Christian rock group are striking. From seeing singer/guitarist Chris Taylor flail about onstage to digging into the lyrical bent of ‘Soul Rash’, The 77’s can be assured their presence is being felt in this market. Which is not to say Love Coma is a copy band in any way; many more acts should take cues from the realistic, self-examining viewpoint of Mike Roe & Co.

The lines of introspection start from the first cut, «Big Reconstruction». And although, yes, the title is a bit of a cliche, the cut tries to make sense of God’s wonderful miracle of Jesus to this undeserving world: “I can’t see how You could come and love and ugly heart like mine/ You sent yourself … You were the One/ Who ate the bread and drank the wine.”

«Heartwideopen», possibly the centerpiece of the whole project, exudes a starkness that resonates throughout. The liner notes before the song show the conflict between a desire for humility and the realization of our own human limits in fufilling that desire: “The closest thing to purity is the mind, body, & soul completely humbled … I wonder what that feels like?”

With «Doubt», though, Love Coma realizes the limit of depression, and offers a positive, hopeful solution through all the self-examinations. “Don’t doubt your life away,” they encourage, and it’s refreshing to know that this group of artists, who insist on growing spiritually by constantly and honestly re-evaluating themselves, also have the foresight to see a way out.

In the quote printed before the song, Love Coma again reveals their influence with a quote that is quite familiar in alternative Christian music: “Peace of heart is better than Peace of mind.” From ‘Soul Rash’, Love Coma has the talent to make just as big an impact as the quartet from Sacramento. [Brent Hershey, Syndicate Magazine, July 1994, Vol. 9, Issue 2]

CD tracklist:

01. Big Reconstruction – 4:38
02. What’s Behind Those Eyes – 2:38
03. Now. – 2:33
04. Heartwideopen – 5:06
05. Spice – 1:01
06. Doubt – 4:52
07. Empty – 4:40
08. 2½ – 0:53
09. Disappear – 4:56
10. On My Way – 10:30

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Etcetera Records. A short instrumental track titled “Sigh” is tagged to the end of the CD. Available at Bandcamp: https://christaylor.bandcamp.com/album/love-coma-soul-rash