Lovelikefire – Tear Ourselves Away
From the moment you hear Lovelikefire, you know the band is all about the frontwoman, Ann Yu. Denied the chance to listen to anything but classical music in her childhood, she left home and shared apartments and rehearsal rooms with fellow Las Vegas residents, The Killers, where she developed a taste for more modern music and, in forming the band, Ann forged an outlet for her angst and her own classically-flecked take on pop music.
On their debut album, Lovelikefire make sure Ann gets her way. The production always pushes her voice to the very forefront, where she sings with the wistful power of Ida Maria and the tone of Karen O, whilst the instruments swirl behind her. The band have clearly taken some hints from their former practice partners, as the instrumentation constantly blasts out stadium-sized melodies worthy of Brandon Flowers and co, but with darker, pounding elements more reminiscent of Editors. Unfortunately, it seems as though with these musical elements all in place, the band have little else at their disposal, and the album becomes simply variations on a theme almost throughout.
At first, it all seems promising with heartbreak anthem 'William' and the incessant pounding of 'From A Tower' kicking off proceedings, but with the next five songs doing more or less the same thing, it can all get a little samey, and it all becomes more bluster than bombast. Ann Yu’s tendency to veer towards anguished and annoyed lyrical content in every song also lessens its impact, and leads to lines like the frankly childish “Don’t tell me what to do / I won’t listen”. 'My Left Eye' is the one song that tries something a little different, and maybe because of this is the strongest track on the album. With none of the overbearing drums of the other tracks and the inclusion of violins and acoustic guitar to the mix, it gives Yu’s impressive vocals and tortured lyrics a more suitable backing.
The whole experience is frustrating, because we can clearly see that there is real talent here being constrained by a set of musical ideas that have already been used to death. As a result, we’re left with a solid but underwhelming album that could have offered so much more with a little added invention.
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