"You say your name is Paul/I think you think it's Jesus," sings Loomer on "Bang the Nails," one of several cuts with underlying (however obscure) religious imagery. Elsewhere, Loomer's concerns turn to matters of the heart with equally metaphorical results. "I am just some old ice cream, all cold and hard and grainy/Hiding underneath the bread at the bottom of your freezer," Loomer sings on "Caramel Heart" as the band (especially keyboardist Mike Taylor) plays understatedly behind him.

Sounding like a beautiful amalgamation of the Gourds and Arcade Fire, Songs of the Wild West Island is a heady and heartening display of emotion and quiet intensity. Rarely settling for the norm, Loomer makes music of a distinct quality, songs that assess the past, present and future with equal apprehension.

Reviewed by Brian Baker

There are a number of names in the pantheon of artists who use country music as the springboard to more invigorating and experimental sonic expressions, from Ryan Adams (and his various band guises) to Wilco to Son Volt to the Jayhawks. This illustrious roll call needs to be lengthened by at least one name - the Canadian sextet Loomer, led by songwriter par excellence Scott Loomer.

The band's 2004 debut, "Love is a Dull Instrument," inspired comparisons to Gram Parsons, Uncle Tupelo and the Velvet Underground and earned the album lavish praise and best-of-year status among a lot of critics. Loomer's latest matches and surpasses the level established by its predecessor, from the powerfully atmospheric opening track, "Bang the Nails," to the Gary Louris-meets-James McMurtry swing of "Anastasia" to the double clutched twang of "Dirt Angel" to the scuffed heartache of "Turnbuckle" to the Vigilantes of Love swagger of "Sunday Driver Down."

Like his south-of-the-northern-border brethren, Scott Loomer and his crack band understands the electric and eclectic web that connects the power of rock to the passion of country to the introspection of folk and the inherent wisdom in throwing them all into the musical cement mixer to see what happens. In Loomer's case, it's alt.-country perfection. (loomeronline.com)

Loomer give us a quirky Alt. Country album with many a twist. Great stuff

With an opening that would do Jeff Tweedy proud, “Songs of the Wild West Island” flowers into a world-weary, folk-inspired country rock album that works on pretty much all levels.

Superficially, it’s a great solid album to hear, the songs are winners with the right amount of musical edge to add the salt and pepper. Scratch beneath the surface and the lyrics are insightful, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always interesting: “You were born with a caramel heart/ Soft and warm and sticky…” being a perfect example of the quirkiness within. Perhaps more “Ivor Cutler” than “Steve Earle”, but this is by no means a bad thing.

Perhaps one of the highlights of the album (save perhaps “Old Grey Ford”, a song about a car and a two-headed calf) is the delicate, soulful duet, “Only Lovers”, featuring Sarah Harmer, whose performance on this song elevates an already blissful tune to the sublime.

Not surprisingly, this album is picking up critical acclaim left right and centre. Like they say, if a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well, and Loomer are clearly adhering to that maxim.

Date review added:  Monday, October 30, 2006
Reviewer:  Sian Claire Owen
Reviewers Rating: 9 OUT OF 10

For Toronto's Loomer, country music is not a career move. 'Songs of the Wild West Island' proves that for Scott Loomer and company, country music is a state of mind. What sets Loomer apart from the usual alt-country mold is that they revel in and even celebrate the non-country contradictions in their music. On the hypnotic Caramel Heart for example, they lock into a propulsive groove where the drums hang in lockstep to an urgent bass line and a Hammond organ and the pedal steel guitars ride over top like late era Velvet Underground taking a walk with Gram
Parsons. While they transcend themselves on more occasions than just the one here, the bottom line is that in between a few cowpunk stompers, straight ahead ballads (including one with a gorgeous counterpoint vocal by Sarah Harmer) and the above-noted cosmic cowboy melting pot, Loomer on Songs of the Wild West Island show signs of grace and greatness unheard since late-period Uncle Tupelo.
Rating: A- - Bob Klanac

Loomer's sophomore release expands on their exceptional debut. Scott Loomer's songwriting and the band's rich, cinematic sound, compliments of Andrew Lindsay, Brian Duguay, Mike Taylor, Iain Thomson, and John DeHaas, move them into the upper-tier alongside stalwarts Ryan Adams, Wilco, and The Jayhawks. From the opening notes of Bang The Nails to the closing of Endless Holiday, Loomer stakes their claim as one of the best bands working in the loosely-defined Americana genre. -- Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music, USA

Love Is A Dull Instrument (Newtone Records; www.loomeronline.com) Scott Loomer and his band mates have crafted the best alt-country album of the year. This terrific disc should delight Uncle Tupelo fans.
-Eric Sorensen - Fufkin.com, January 2005

Love is a Dull Instrument
(Newtone Records)
This is one of those ”where did these guys come from” records that ­ once you hear it commands serious attention, especially from those who lean towards the Whiskeytown/Wilco-meets-McGuinn/Parsons camp. These guys have roots, indeed, in Toronto’s own Saddletramps, as Andrew Lindsay, John DeHaas and Brian Duguay have evolved into Loomer around the extremely talented vocals of namesake Scott Loomer. And his masterful voice is a perfect foil to the wonderfully lazy, somewhat sloppy, country-fused accompaniment that graces the album’s 13 tracks! Aided and abetted by the perfectly-placed pedal steel of Jim Whitford, and some finally crafted harmonies, this record ambles along for almost an hour with enough pop sentiment to demand the success this union so richly deserves.
This is the band you want to see live with a table full of limes and tequila and your spankiest pair of chaps on ­ as the songs, which so swiftly sink their teeth into your lifestyle, make you thirst for more. All wrapped up with a bent sense of humour and a hint of that typically Canadian self-deprecating way, Loomer begs an audience, if not a following. Better than marshmallows for any campfire!
Eric Thom -Exclaim Magazine, August 2004