The Lovetones

Dimensions

(Planting Seeds)

Record Review by Marcel Feldmar

Another disc touched with the dark undertones of some Brian Jonestown Massacre miasma, Australia’s Lovetones (led by erstwhile BJM member Matthew J. Tow) have released Dimensions, which is perfectly titled, as I feel like I’m listening to the world around me filtered through some kind of sonic kaleidoscope. We begin with the instrumental deep haze of “Moonlit Suite” that fades and gives way to that soft upbeat Dandy Massacre swing. It moves in delicate pop-psych harmonics across the ears, touching and crooning like a Beach Boys dream at dawn, before the sun rises and the surf boards hit.

It’s very smooth and seductive, but still holds a dark edge against the brilliance of broken mirrors. The music settles in to a groove, at times, between the mellower moments of Ride and the innocence of a '60s stoned Kinks. Post-jangle psych-pop, perhaps, if you want to throw a quick label on it, but quick labels just don’t do this band justice.

There are definitely some Beatlesque moments thrown into the mix, with the rhythms and the vocals playing against the drums and the background singers, but the added touches of flute and mellotron helps the songs stay in the present, and sometimes even a little in the future, like you are listening to the sounds of a dream you might be having sometime next Sunday.

Wide and spacious hits of voice and sound pull in fragments of Mercury Rev, but with less orchestration. It’s simple in its complexity, like birds flying over ocean waves.

These songs tell stories that you want to hear, and they are delivered in a way that keeps you listening. It's like listening to daydreams for a simpler time, but the Lovetones help you realize that you don’t have to be living in the past; you can get hit with the sunshine right now. These songs keep you warm and smiling as they let you see that even the softest clouds can cast dark shadows.