Here's to the Losers

Love Jones' debut album predated the resurgence of swing and lounge music. The band's early demise prevented Love Jones from attaining the popularity of groups like the Squirrel Nut Zippers or the underground following of Friends of Dean Martinez. Here's to the Losers is something akin to putting the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Combustible Edison in a martini shaker. The music has elements of pop, bossa nova, and rock, and the lyrics range from overconfident to insecure. Highlights include the grunge sendup "Paid for Loving," which is a Copa-style tune boasting about sexual mastery, and the ode to the "Li'l Black Book." "Paid for Loving" may be familiar, because it was used in the film Swingers. Aficionados of the L.A. music scene will take note that Jon Brion plays multiple instruments (vibes, keys, chamberlin) and Mark Flanagan adds trumpet throughout the record. Love Jones celebrates lounge crooners, especially those lubricated with stiff cocktails. A drunken romp of a CD and one of the great unknown neo-lounge albums. ~ JT Griffith