STATE OF OUR UNION (+BONUS)

In America, if Love were The Beatles then The Long Ryders were The Smiths. Where Love were pushing the boundaries of what was possible in the folk and early country-rock fields The Long Ryders learned from their mistakes and refined the sound that then allowed bands like R.E.M. and the rest of the post-Paisley Underground renaissance to deconstruct and reinvent again. Pick up any of the best-of compilations released every few years and you would be forgiven for thinking theirs is a back catalogue awash with sunshine melodies and layers of chorus effects but dig a little deeper into their albums (in this case their Rubber Soul and Revolver; or should that be their Meat Is Murder and The Queen Is Dead) and you see a winsome approach to post-punk and politics that disappointingly settles into mediocre MOR as we witness a band run out of ideas a little too quickly. (http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk).