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The Lemonheads returned in 2025 with Love Chant (out via Fire Records, October 24th), their first studio album in nearly two decades - a bold, melodic reaffirmation of Evan Dando’s singular songwriting voice. Written across continents and recorded primarily in São Paulo, Brazil, where Dando now resides, Love Chant finds the frontman reconnecting with longtime collaborators while introducing new creative voices. It’s a record of fresh starts and familiar sounds - emotionally raw, melodically rich, and unmistakably Lemonheads.
The new album features contributions from J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Juliana Hatfield, Tom Morgan, Bryce Goggin, Erin Rae, and Nick Saloman of The Bevis Frond. It’s a diverse but coherent work - from the full-throttle hooks of “Deep End” to the spectral softness of “The Key Of Victory,” and the Modern Lovers-like drive of the title track. Co-released alongside Dando’s forthcoming memoir Rumours Of My Demise (via Faber, November 6th), Love Chant marks both a return and a reckoning - the sound of an artist who’s lived, lost, and located the thread once again.
Formed in Boston in 1986, The Lemonheads have long thrived on that intersection between chaos and charm. With a revolving cast built around Dando’s melodic instincts and ragged charisma, their early punk roots were forged across three scrappy albums on local label Taang! before signing to Atlantic Records and releasing 1990’s Lovey. It was on tour for that record in Australia where Dando connected with Tom Morgan and future bandmate Nic Dalton - a meeting that reshaped the band’s songwriting and sound.
Their commercial breakthrough came with 1992’s It’s A Shame About Ray and 1993’s Come On Feel The Lemonheads, both records that married punk energy with melodic pop, and established Dando as one of alternative rock’s most compelling figures. National TV appearances followed, and so did the tabloid glare - by the late ’90s, the music sometimes took a backseat to Dando’s unpredictable, chaotic public persona. He disbanded The Lemonheads in 1997 following a turbulent performance at Reading Festival.
In 2003, he released his acclaimed solo album Baby I’m Bored - quieter and more introspective, it hinted at a new phase. But it wasn’t long before The Lemonheads were reborn. In 2006, a self-titled album marked a head-on collision of wordy ’70s punk and cosmic country, followed by Varshons (2009) and Varshons 2 (2019), two mixtape-like collections of cover versions that spanned Townes Van Zandt to GG Allin, Leonard Cohen to The Bevis Frond - always with the same emotional clarity and melodic magnetism that defines Dando’s output.
Over the years, The Lemonheads’ shape has shifted - Descendents, Dinosaur Jr, Blake Babies and members of Fuzzy have all passed through the ranks - but at its core has always been Dando’s songwriting: wry, vulnerable, catchy, and true. With Love Chant, that core burns brightly once more.
Recent years have only deepened the band’s influence. Artists like Courtney Barnett, Waxahatchee, Phoebe Bridgers and MJ Lenderman cite The Lemonheads as touchstones, covering their songs and praising their emotional candor and melodic economy.
As Record Collector noted, “The Lemonheads have always been recognised as purveyors of grade-A pop punk.” Or, in Rolling Stone’s words: “Few bands have been able to walk the line between the angst of grunge and the warmth of folk quite as elegantly as The Lemonheads.”
