Los Angeles rockers Love and a .38 have released their sophomore album, Nomads. The video for the lead single, ‘Oh My God’ has been added into rotation at the Universal Citywalk Jumbotron, alongside artists such as Imagine Dragons, Paramore, and Pentatonix.
“For an up and coming band like us it’s really a thrill to be able to see ourselves side by side with artists who have accomplished so much in the industry. It’s energizing and humbling,” said vocalist Ryan Hudson. “We’ve really honed in on what kind of feeling we want to portray with our music, and have focused our energy in a way that better serves that feeling than we ever have before.”
Four guys from different parts of the USA, Love and a .38 formed in Los Angles in 2009, and aside from Hudson feature Domo Domaracki (guitars), Justin Emord (bass), and Clark Skelton (drums). They toured throughout south west and up and down the west coast, releasing a self-titled debut EP in 2010 and a string of singles in 2012-13. With the help of social media the band has established a solid fan base, not only in Southern California but across the globe.
“As tough as it is to do as an independent band, it’s always a thrill to pile in a van with nothing but rock n roll and open road,” claims front man Ryan Hudson. “The money is tight, sometimes worse than tight… But the memories and experiences are absolutely priceless.”
Nomads was produced by the band themselves at Hollywood’s Blushing Cad Studios. “Being completely self-contained has really allowed us to focus our sound and our creative vision in ways that might not have been possible otherwise. And we feel like fans really recognize and respect the fact that we’re willing to work for our art. No matter what it takes,” summarised Hudson.
Discussing tracks from the album, Hudson said:‘Oh My God’ started out as a call to arms. “It was a call to arms for ourselves, actually. We were at a bit of a crossroads as a band, musically, and were trying to reconcile what we had started out as with where we were headed. We knew we wanted to experiment with some different sounds and vibes, but didn’t want to lose sight of the unfiltered rock-n-roll attitude that had defined us to that point. So it became a violent collision of our old stuff and our new stuff, and really gave a lot of direction for where we wanted to take the record.” Whereas, ‘I Won’t Wait’ has been described as the band’s anthem, being a song about perseverance and defiance. “Two traits that really define what the band is about. Big, loud and angry, yet melodic and nuanced, it captures the kind of controlled chaos that is prevalent in Love and a .38’s live shows.
‘Abre Los Ojos’ is said to be the nearest thing the band’s come to writing a ballad. “There’s a certain melancholy there with the way the pieces fit together, but it’s an angry melancholy, if that makes sense. That dichotomy was really fun to play around with during the writing process.” While ‘Just Like Regret’ was the last song written for Nomads and almost didn’t make the record. “We were all in love with the guitar riff and the campy nature of the verse,” Hudson said, “But we probably went through a dozen different chorus ideas and nothing was working. When it came down to it, though, we just couldn’t picture the album without it. Eventually lightning struck, and we’re very happy it did because that song pushes and pulls in a way that none of our others do. The music lent itself to having a very dark and emotional narrative to juxtapose with the bouncy, springy verses and allowed us to dive into unknown waters, both lyrically and musically.”
Nomads is available direct from Love and a .38’s website.
