Love Equals Death

Nightmerica

[3/5] Just look at the America-as-wasteland/zombie-girl artwork of Love Equals Death’s Nightmerica (or simply note the band name and album title), and you may know what sort of music to expect. Yes, Nightmerica is a dark, dead-serious debut album from this pack of Bay Area punk diehards (including ex-Tsunami Bomb bassist Dominic Davi), with a spirited melodic edge and a sense of melancholy that often borders on the beautiful (see the piano-laced acoustic track “Truth Has Failed.”). Of course, there are also exceptions to the “sad and beautiful” rule, including the super-fast “V.O.C. (Voice Of Change),” “Numb,” “When We Fall” and “Caught In A Trap” (a sing-along blast with a head-banging nod to Pennywise). But the subject matter, whether personal or political, is consistently earnest and thoughtful, even if you might wish they’d given a second thought to including “Pray For Me,” a poppier love song that just seems out of place.
(FAT WRECK CHORDS) Janelle Jones