|
|
REVIEW: The Bloodthirsty Lovers: s/t
4.14.2003 by
The Bloodthirsty Lovers: The Bloodthirsty Lovers [French Kiss, 2003] (mp3)
Three words? 24-hour party people
The motives of the recent surge of 70s and 80s revival-rock bands can be suspect. Is it possible to tell the ones who love the music from those looking to cash-in? Who among them are only in it to meet Parker Posey? Which of their rail-thin drummers are just looking for an excuse to not bathe? As long as the NME and the rest of England exist, the distinction will remain hard to make. Luckily, some bands, like The Bloodthirsty Lovers, rise above the clichés and truly deliver.
Keyboard and sample heavy, The Bloodthirsty Lovers make no attempt to hide the 80s art-school rock influences on their debut, self-titled record. What keeps the Lovers from being mere genre-revivalists, however, is that they avoid the temptation to simply mimic their influences - and write great, dense rock songs instead. The back-to-back "2,000 Light Years from Home" and "Call Off the Thugs" complement each other beautifully, the first being a sunny Oasis-meets-Morcheeba-and-tackle-Yellow-Submarine expedition and the second a short and somber thing with lyrics about helicopters and spies and stuff. The robotic hip-hop beats of "Datapunk," the Purple Rain-brand funk of "Transgression #9" and the potential Nissan Ultima theme-song that is "Waking Up in a Good Place" show the different strides the band can make without anything feeling faked or half-assed.
The only blatant lapse of judgment is "Hardcore," which is anything but. The faux-British oh yeah’s and the endless organ chord will possibly make this the longest three minutes and twenty seconds of your life.
Overall, The Bloodthirsty Lovers succeeds. It’s electronic without being emotionally stale and traditional without being predictable. The Lovers make their first recorded appearance a fun road-trip album with enough lyric and sonic depth to be a classic headphone-record. If Tom Waits ever hosted a rave, this shit would rock the house.
| Take a minute to fill out this nice form and give the nice columnist some nice feedback. Our columnists are volunteers, they do this for you, let 'em know you care. |
|
| |
