The third time really does seem to be the charm for Wendy Case and her latest lineup of the Paybacks -- their third album, Love, Not Reason is the band's tightest, hardest, and most satisfying effort to date. Made after Case's self-confessed retreat from a longtime alcohol addiction, Love, Not Reason has a tight focus and sense of discipline that eluded her earlier work, and there's a maturity in songs like "Dumb Love," "Stranger in the House," and "Shotgunn" that demonstrates hard-won street smarts without getting in the way of her rocker's instincts; these songs are full of lessons learned but bear no regrets, and tough love drips from every pore of this music. But most importantly, Love, Not Reason rocks like nobody's business; Case's fierce, passionate vocals can caress or tear at will, she and lead player Danny Methric lock their guitars like dueling swordsmen (cue up "Painkiller" to hear some truly fierce soloing), and drummer John Hafer and bassist John Szymanski make for a hard-kicking rhythm section that drives this music like it ought to be on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Merging the swagger of hard rock, the no-compromise commitment of punk, and a very '70s sense of melodic thunder, Love, Not Reason demonstrates the Paybacks are one of the few bands on the Detroit scene whose work can stand beside that of their fabled forefathers of the Grande Ballroom era, and anyone looking for an aural dose of high energy will find it right here.-AMG
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