Love Canon - Greatest Hits Vol. III Release Party

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Love Canon doesn't cover the music of the '80s as much as kidnap it and take it on a bluegrass-tinged joyride. It's a general rule of American culture that it takes 20-40 years for a decade to shed its stale stench and get its groove back. There's no shortage of clever musical re-enactors giving the first generation of MTV an ironic makeover: a fool's errand, given that the music already was soaked in postmodern irony. By contrast, Love Canon refreshes and extends the originals with affectionate humor and effortless virtuosity. The players — including Old School Freight Train's Jesse Harper, Nate Leath, Darrell Muller, Virginia Commonwealth University guitar and banjo master Adam Larrabee, and Mandolin Virtuoso Andy Thacker — add layers of depth to the still-appealing pop hooks. They romp on throwaway classics such as ZZ Top's "Legs" and "She Blinded Me With Science." On their excellent version of "The Boys of Summer," the folk instrumentation adds a traditional context to the time-capsule lyrics. After blazing through other up-tempo material, they shift to a slow burn on the closing "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." It's an unlikely choice for an all-male band, but they strip the song down to its bittersweet, feminist heart.

— Peter McElhinney - Style Weekly

Love Canon is Jesse Harper (of acoustic supergroup Old School Freight Train), Darrell Muller (also of OSFT), Adam Larrabee (jazz guitar/banjo virtuoso), Andy Thacker (bluegrass mandolin phenom) Nate Leath (also of OSFT) Love Canon is periodically joined by other geniuses/collaborators/acrobats.