ALBUM: Love Tractor , ‘Themes from Venus’ (1988); Let’s Active, “Big Plans for Everybody.’ (1986).
MVC Rating: Tractor 4.0/$$$; Active, 3.5/$$$
I was disappointed to pull out my Love Tractor album and find that it was warped. I’m talking about a big warp at the inception of the record which makes it skip. Sadly I am probably going to have to throw it away. And that’s a shame because I remember it fondly. Another Warped Hometown Band.
I combined Let’s Active with this as well because it was part of a group of records that were my college soundtrack. Both had Mitch Easter connections and Athens, Ga., connections, my more or less hometown. Let’s Active was from, I believe Chapel Hill, a university town that followed Athens’ as an incubator for good music. Of these Love Tractor is more varied and a little bit more alternative or should I say Avant Garde.
They started out as a mostly instrumental band. When they found their words they were mostly super silly but cool super silly like “I Like My Power Tools.”
Let’s Active was often compared to REM but except for some trebly jangly-ness of the guitars I didn’t see them that like that. I thought they sounded more like Ryan Adams.
Love tractor had the wonderful ‘I broke my saw’ in the spirit of Big Fat Tractor by the Swimming Pool Q’s.