Love Is All- Nine Times That Same Song album review
Love Is All- Nine Times That Same Song
Originally published at http://www.disordermagazine.com/article.php?id=309
Calling your CD ‘Nine Times That Same Song’ could be seen by many as tempting fate. It’s just begging to be palmed off as a pun by some lazy music journalist eager to take advantage of any snappy taglines that might offer themselves up. I’ll admit I considered it, because there are many elements of Love Is All’s tunes that sound the same, but then I reckon it’s OK for bands to occasionally sound like themselves. Also, there are ten tracks on the album rather than nine, so it would never work anyway.
Upon first listen Love Is All are confusing. The beats hop about like mad and the vocals are layered with generous dollops of reverb that harks to ska and dub influences. To be blunt, it sounds messy. A few more listens reveal my mistake however, as this is not the kind of music to be enjoyed sitting down with headphones on. To get the most out of LIA one must crank it up on a decent sound system and dance about like a released loony.
Most are aware of the reaction Madness’ ‘Baggy Trousers’ gets when played at a rock club, as well as how sweaty most people end up after thrashing about to Razorlight. Well take the freestyle trumpet and vocal style from the former and the driven, aggressive guitars of the latter and you’ve got the essence of LIA. Opener ‘Talk Talk Talk Talk’ establishes the band’s desire to be your freak-out soundtrack with its raw, cracked style and The Rapture-esque epic guitar sound. ‘Aging Had Never Been His Friend’ was tailor made to be marched to in that uber-cool jerky way ‘scene’ people do, and in this case you may even catch the ‘too cool to dance’ crowd unable to control their feet, legs, arms, and head.
Dancing amateurs beware however, as you will need more than one move in your stuff-strutting arsenal to jive along with all 30 minutes 39 seconds on offer here. ‘Turn the Radio Off’, ‘Make Out Fall Out Make Up’, ‘Felt Tip’, and ‘Turn the TV Off’ will all require something a bit more contained on the dance floor. I recommend the Karen O vogue influenced style or perhaps the Arcade Fire ‘stand around staring at the ceiling completely absorbed by the bassline’. Either will do just fine.
If dance impulse allows take a bit of time out to appreciate the female singer’s expertise. The Swedish accent means many ‘s’ sounds are pronounced as ‘shh’, making for a vocal style full of Scandinavian charm. This is an album that improves with every listen, and is thus deserving of your investment and time.
8 out of 10
Released 3rd July on Parlophone
3 Jul 2006 by Matt S
Originally published at http://www.disordermagazine.com/article.php?id=309
Calling your CD ‘Nine Times That Same Song’ could be seen by many as tempting fate. It’s just begging to be palmed off as a pun by some lazy music journalist eager to take advantage of any snappy taglines that might offer themselves up. I’ll admit I considered it, because there are many elements of Love Is All’s tunes that sound the same, but then I reckon it’s OK for bands to occasionally sound like themselves. Also, there are ten tracks on the album rather than nine, so it would never work anyway.
Upon first listen Love Is All are confusing. The beats hop about like mad and the vocals are layered with generous dollops of reverb that harks to ska and dub influences. To be blunt, it sounds messy. A few more listens reveal my mistake however, as this is not the kind of music to be enjoyed sitting down with headphones on. To get the most out of LIA one must crank it up on a decent sound system and dance about like a released loony.
Most are aware of the reaction Madness’ ‘Baggy Trousers’ gets when played at a rock club, as well as how sweaty most people end up after thrashing about to Razorlight. Well take the freestyle trumpet and vocal style from the former and the driven, aggressive guitars of the latter and you’ve got the essence of LIA. Opener ‘Talk Talk Talk Talk’ establishes the band’s desire to be your freak-out soundtrack with its raw, cracked style and The Rapture-esque epic guitar sound. ‘Aging Had Never Been His Friend’ was tailor made to be marched to in that uber-cool jerky way ‘scene’ people do, and in this case you may even catch the ‘too cool to dance’ crowd unable to control their feet, legs, arms, and head.
Dancing amateurs beware however, as you will need more than one move in your stuff-strutting arsenal to jive along with all 30 minutes 39 seconds on offer here. ‘Turn the Radio Off’, ‘Make Out Fall Out Make Up’, ‘Felt Tip’, and ‘Turn the TV Off’ will all require something a bit more contained on the dance floor. I recommend the Karen O vogue influenced style or perhaps the Arcade Fire ‘stand around staring at the ceiling completely absorbed by the bassline’. Either will do just fine.
If dance impulse allows take a bit of time out to appreciate the female singer’s expertise. The Swedish accent means many ‘s’ sounds are pronounced as ‘shh’, making for a vocal style full of Scandinavian charm. This is an album that improves with every listen, and is thus deserving of your investment and time.
8 out of 10
Released 3rd July on Parlophone
3 Jul 2006 by Matt S
posted by Matthew Simpson | 1:27 AM
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