Nord Express formed in Baltimore around 1993. Rob had previously been in Whorl, an incredible DC area noise band, whose members also included Mike Schulman of Slumberland Records, and Brian Nelson of Velocity Girl. Nord Express rehearsed and performed live as a guitar/drums duo, and from 1993-1997 played shows with many amazing bands such as The Heartworms, Rocketship, Henry's Dress, Lorelei, The Mad Scene, Silver Apples, The Mountain Goats and The Magnetic Fields.
Loveland is a collection of unreleased tracks from 3 eps recorded during this time, along with 8 new songs recorded in Oakland, CA (Ron's home from 1997-2001), and Portland, ME (2001-present). Two songs, Ghost and Looking Up, were recorded at Pierre Sprey's idiosyncratic Mapleshade Studio, using two highly modified PZM microphones direct to an equally modified 2-track tape machine. Other songs were recorded by Archie Moore at his Mulberry Lane Studios (where Central and Nord Express were also recorded), and by the band to 8-track cassette and computer.
Nord Express review
Repetition is definitely the key to this first Nord Express record, repetition followed by catharsis. Not catharsis in the Mogwai/Slint sense of the word -- there are no explosive assaults to deaden you to sensitivity. This is catharsis in the sense of the songs of Galaxie 500 -- elements build on top of each other before spilling out into a finale of energy and tension. The group slowly layers fragments of melodies that sound slightly broken and aids them with repeated vocal lines and a buried, far-off drum sound. It's the simple accompaniment with strummed guitar lines that makes it all work. Rob Goldrick's vocals might bring up memories of Calvin Johnson, while songs like "The Calm" and "The Letter" do their best to reinstate the fact that pop may be pure without being perfect. The latter track is especially strong and makes the most of its crisp, shambling drums. A song like "Around the World" envelops the listener with its three-part harmonies, despite the fact that the vocals are mumbled and scattered. That's what makes Nord Express work -- a dedication to pop sound and an understanding of how music affects the listener. Expectations are slowly dropped aside as familiar elements of the best in guitar pop -- from the Go-Betweens to Galaxie 500 -- are slowly meted out back to the listener, delicately and knowingly.
—Jon Pruett, All Music Guide
Central review
The opening song, "Promise," is slow-developing, stripped-down pop bathed in somnolent broth that withers away after six minutes as if it has finally drifted off into alpha state, and the remainder of Nord Express' debut album drifts deeper and deeper into that ethereal mood. With its minimalistic approach to instrumentation, Central seems not so much interested in enveloping a listener as it is--like most pop--in insinuating its melodies inside that listener, and it does so with restraint and slow repetition that never sounds muted and never, despite its subdued nature, sorrowful, though it is often melancholy. Songs such as "I'll Wait For You In Kansas City" or "M. Row" even approach a certain brightness in spite of their low garbled vocals. Understatement is the name of the game for Nord Express, but it is not a case of being too subtle or not revealing enough in or through the music. The understatement is so consistent that it becomes the instrument of insinuation, the way it which a more textured sense of passion can be conveyed or gotten at. It also threatens the music with coming apart at the seams, which are nakedly showing throughout the album. The songs sometimes takes so long to develop that it can be somewhat frustrating. As a listener you know there is a point, and you know that Nord Express will eventually come to that point in their own sweet time, but they do not always let you in on the ending, only on the process, before everything slows to a halt. The music cannot be dismissed, yet it also seems to be missing a full-on conclusion. Like the song sequence seems to predict, sometimes songs start out with a "Promise" but too easily fade into "Lights Out." Mostly, however, the band hits upon a quiet, melodic sort of drone that is beautiful in and of itself. That those droning tendencies serve the song rather than simply the sound makes Central all the more accomplished and lovely.
—Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide
