ALBUM REVIEW

The Loves are a Welsh band in thrall to all things 1960’s - The Monkee’s, Velvet Underground, even Serge Gainsbourg by the sounds of it. and there’s some great pop music here, the two tracks featured on an ep I reviewed last year – “Xs and Os” has great harmonies and I still love “She’ll break your heart...again” with it’s pounding drums, it brings to mind Phil spector. “Jazz my bads (for jt)” is a great stomping rocker and “My she love you” is the highlight of the album, superb 60’s surf rock with a keyboard hook that resonates the infectiousness “Louis, Louis”.

However its not all good news, what lets this album down is it doesn’t seem to fit, on one hand they have a huge Phil Spector wall of sound but on the other they want to be lo-fi and indie, they need to make their minds up as they can’t be both. Sometimes they need catchier choruses, their more immediate songs work best, and the low key songs, like “Rainbow connection”, “So sad are just dull”. “How does it feel to be loved” ends up suffering this fate, when it seems like it could have been so much more, the piano line needs to be bolder, just needs to be hammered out with a stronger backing and it would be great. “Je t’aime, baby” is a cautionary tale - 7 minutes of one vocal line and a repetitive backing does not a Velvet Underground make. “Gimme, gimme the good times” is another opportunity missed, it could have been a real anthem but instead it’s just not strong enough.

This is a hit and miss second album from The Loves but worth investigating if you like your 60’s retro pop.

Jon-tohellwith

www.theloves.org