''LP III'' is the third album by the
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
punk rock band
The Soviettes
The Soviettes were a punk rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2001. The group is composed of Annie (guitar), Sturgeon (guitar), Susy (bass guitar), and Danny ( drums), all of whom share singing and songwriting duties.
History
Anni ...
. It was released on
CD and
LP on June 25, 2005, to mixed critical reviews.
Recording and release
''LP III'' continued the Soviettes' trend of numerically naming their albums (their previous two albums being ''
LP'' and ''
LP II'').
Unlike the previous two which were signed with
Adeline Records
Adeline Records was an American record label that was formed in Oakland, California in late 1997 and closed in August 2017.
History
In 1997, Adeline Records was founded by Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day, Screw 32's Doug Sangal ...
, this album was signed with
Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990.
The label has released mater ...
.
Reflecting on the change, bandmember Maren "Sturgeon" Macosko noted in an interview that "
e biggest difference between Adeline and Fat is, well, the size."
The second track on the album, "¡Paranoia Cha Cha Cha!", was first released on April 20, 2004, on the ''
Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1'' compilation, part of the
Rock Against Bush
Rock Against Bush was a project mobilizing punk and alternative musicians against the 2004 U.S. Presidential re-election campaign of George W. Bush. At its core was the idea of using music to create an anti-war, pro-peace sentiment, similar t ...
series.
The disc was produced by Fat Wreck Chords, making "¡Paranoia Cha Cha Cha!" the first Soviettes track on the label.
The other tracks on the album were recorded at the Terrarium Studios in
Northeast Minneapolis
Northeast is a defined community in the U.S. city of Minneapolis that is composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially it also includes the neighborhoods of the University community which have "NE" addre ...
during February, 2005.
As before, Annie Holoien and Maren "Sturgeon" Macosko played
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, Danny Henry played the
drums, and Susy Sharp played the
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
while all four bandmembers sang.
Every track on the album clocked in at under three minutes in length.
The album was released on June 28, 2005, on CD and limited-edition pink
vinyl
Vinyl may refer to:
Chemistry
* Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer
* Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation
* Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry
* Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
, of which 220 copies were pressed.
"Roller Girls" was used from 2010 to 2016 as a "hype video" for the
Minnesota RollerGirls
Minnesota Roller Derby (MNRD) is a flat track roller derby league based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. Founded in August 2004 as Minnesota RollerGirls by the Donnelly sisters, MNRD was one of the first 30 members of the Women's Fl ...
, the
roller derby league which inspired the song, and continued to be used afterward as the
skate-out theme for the B-Team Minnesota Nice.
In early September, 2005, Macosko hinted that there would be an ''LP IV'' in the future.
This never happened, as the band broke up thereafter.
Nonetheless, the band reunited in 2010 to play several shows in the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...
and released a fourth album, called ''
Rarities''.
Reception
''LP III'' was met with mixed reviews, although it was professionally reviewed only a few times. It was given a positive review in
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, noting its
melodies
A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...
and
harmonies
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
and calling it "the Soviettes' best-performed record yet". The service did note the short length of the album as its downfall, but otherwise had no negative feedback and rated the album as a four out of five.
In a review from
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
, the album was noted as a disappointment in comparison to ''LP II'', noting only "Multiply and Divide" and "¡Paranoia Cha Cha Cha!" as bright spots on the album. ("¡Paranoia Cha Cha Cha!" was discounted, however, since it had already been out since the previous year and was thus a repeat.) They gave the album a six and a half out of ten.
Track listing
Side one
#"Multiply and Divide" – 2:47
#"¡Paranoia Cha Cha Cha!" – 2:03
#"Middle of the Night" – 2:14
#"Whoa" – 1:11
#"(Do) The Stagger" – 1:58
#"You Should Know" – 1:27
#"What Did I Do?!" – 1:48
Side Two
#"Roller Girls" – 1:43
#"Together" – 2:02
#"Thinking of You" – 2:51
#"Hanging Up the Phone" – 2:18
#"How Do You Like That" – 1:34
#"Photograph" – 1:55
#"Gotta Decide" – 2:30
Personnel
*Annie Holoien –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
*Maren "Stugeon" Macosko – guitar, vocals
*Danny Henry –
drums, vocals
*Susy Sharp –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, vocals
References
External links
"Multiply and Divide"music video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lp Iii
The Soviettes albums
2005 albums
Fat Wreck Chords albums