record reviews:
The Lovemakers
Misery Loves Company
(Fuzz)
I love
The Lovemakers, and would recommend them highly to anyone,
although I have to issue a word of warning to vegetarians.
Let me explain: the Misery Loves Company EP consists
of five songs and their corresponding videos. In the video
for the title track, there are some severed pig heads and
dead rats, and although it all works perfectly well
artistically, it’s a little much. And then in the video for
“Naturally Lonely,” Lisa Light is wearing a lot of
fur.
Okay, so
now that we’re done with the disclaimer, let’s move on. The
Lovemakers have once again put out a record that balances
the two lead singers, Light and Scott Blonde. “Misery” and
“Naturally” are Lights; the other three are Blonde’s. This
band has the impressive ability to always keep the audience
guessing as to whom the leader of the band is, since they
both play dominant and submissive very well.
The sound
of this EP is more rock than indie, less synths and more
guitars. Much of it is still dance music, and some of it is
more downer-ish. It’s still definitely their sound, and
they haven’t abandoned the best aspects of the music: the
great beats, the quick pace, the lyrics that grab you, but
they have moved on from Times of Romance.
The
videos all tell stories, have high production value, and are
entertaining and thought provoking even if you’re not
familiar with this band. Blonde spends most of his air time
with his shirt off. I thought of the
interview I did with him a year ago,
and remembered that he said it took him a few beers before
he got up the courage to disrobe in front of the audience.
Something about the way that Blonde was swaggering around in
these videos told me that he’s now more than comfortable in
the jacket/no shirt combination. Towards the end of “Save
Me,” the last video on the album, which is an anthemic rock
song in the vain of Oasis, Blonde gets almost Jim Morrison
on his audience. This video also gives us a couple glances
at the two newest members of the band, drummer Ken Hard and
guitarist/keyboardist Brandon Arnovick.
If you’re
a fan of The Lovemakers, there’s no way you could be
disappointed by this tempting EP. If you’re not, now’s the
time to get in on the bottom floor. With a new label,
marketable videos like this, and a fantastic stage show,
it’s only a matter of time for this band.
—
Amber Henson
www.thelovemakers.com
Related:
The Lovemakers -
Feature Interview
The Lovemakers -
Live - July 8, 2006
More by this
writer:
Rio en Medio
- Bride of Dynamite
The Hourly Radio
-
History Will Never Hold Me
Bettie Serveert -
Bare Stripped Naked
Utah Carol -
Rodeo Queen
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