Music
Press
"(Love Kills) have thoroughly perfected the psychocandy wall-of-fuzz...sweetened by Heather Flood's unique, ethereal voice - less like My Bloody Valentine's Bilinda Butcher than a beehived Connie Francis on pills" - Jason Keller/ NOW magazine
Just when you thought Toronto had revealed all its secrets, along comes Love Kills, a fantastic little band who have inexplicably failed to attract a buzz despite three promising EPs. Carry Me Home picks up where She’ll Break Your Heart and Teenage Girls left off, mixing heartachingly lovely harmonies with ultra-distorted Jesus and Mary Chain guitars.
Published Nov 29 2007 - Calgary FFWD
"…Love Kills have a great energy, and their songs -- including the ones on their new EP, Carry Me Home -- have a very appealing rawness…('Suicide') will get stuck in your head for days on end, without complaint… The EP's title track has a beautiful chorus, and 'It's Leaving Me Down' and 'Now Caroline' quiet things down to let the vocals cut through the sonics. 'Let It Roll' picks things back up and features some of my favourite tambourine here, while 'Give Me Something I Can Love' makes great use of strings. It's solid throughout…Check them out live if you've got the chance; though they acquit themselves well on Carry Me Home, that's where they really shine."
- TwoWayMonologues.com
(2006) She'll Break Your Heart E.P. has recently been aired on CBC Radio One's "All In A Day" (Ottawa), Radio Enigma's "Independent Nation" and CFRU 93.3's, "Open Source Radio" (Guelph). - Radio
"One of the most under-the-radar bands to come out of Toronto in a long time." - Pop Noir
Love Kills
She’ll Break Your Heart EP
(Independent)
By Rob Bolton
August 26, 2006
May as well get this out of the way: Toronto’s Love Kills sound a lot like the Raveonettes. With the fuzzy guitar styles of the Jesus & Mary Chain, combined with girl/boy vocal harmonies and classic ’50s and ’60s song structures, it’s not a hard comparison to make. But leaving that aside, this is a really fun seven-song EP, and when listening to “Adeline” or the title track, you might just forget about that Danish duo for a while. The voices of Heather Flood and Patrick Rijd are spot-on, and Tom Flood’s fuzzy guitar work isn’t over the top, and it fills out the sound really well. Ending on the pretty-sounding “Two Hearts” is a sweet touch, since you’re left wanting more. Bring on the full-length, and let’s see how they can develop their sound into something they can truly call their own.
- Exclaim! Magazine (exclaim.ca)
LOVE KILLS Carry Me Home (independent) Cop this self-made EP by shoegaze pop emissaries of the ultra-hip Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood. Then proceed into too-cool local haunts like Sweaty Betty's or the Communist's Daughter like you own the place.
Published the Week of November 15 2007 in NOW Magazine - NOW Magazine
LOVE KILLS Carry Me Home (independent) Cop this self-made EP by shoegaze pop emissaries of the ultra-hip Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood. Then proceed into too-cool local haunts like Sweaty Betty's or the Communist's Daughter like you own the place.
Published the Week of November 15 2007 in NOW Magazine - NOW Magazine
Discography
2006 - She'll Break Your Heart E.P. - seven-song original material demo - released in May. Has recently been aired on CBC Radio One's "All In A Day" (Ottawa), Radio Enigma's "Independent Nation" and CFRU 93.3's, "Open Source Radio" (Guelph).
2006 - Teenage Girls E.P. - released December 19.
2007 - Carry Me Home (EP) - released May 11.
Photos
Bio
Love Kills were formed in Toronto, Canada, in 2005 by long-time musical collaborators Tom Flood and Pat Rijd, who shared a fondness for turn-of-the-90s era Madchester pop, the Jesus & Mary Chain, Phil Spector-era girl groups, and a nascent 60s garage rock aesthetic personified by the likes of Danish Alt-rock duo, the Raveonettes. The two hopeful pop-auteurs recruited long-time high school friends Jay Talsma and Mark Bergshoeff to provide drums and bass guitar. They were joined by Tom's sister, Heather Flood: a young veteran of the Toronto film and stage scene with a smooth, soulful voice that blended neatly with Pat's slightly-edgier vocals.
Writing and rehearsing for nearly a year, the product was the ambitious, 'She'll Break Your Heart E.P.', a seven-song demo of original material recorded in Pat's west-end Toronto apartment. Released in the spring of 2006 to scores of friends, followers, and new converts who took in a string of successful first shows, the debut EP was 25 minutes of hook-laden harmonies framed by fast electronic drum beats, twangy Telecaster riffs, and walls of feedback and fuzz. The 500-copy initial printing ran out within eight weeks. It has since been aired on CBC Radio One's "All in a Day" programme and received a highly-favourable review from Toronto music publication, 'Exclaim! Magazine'.
In the fall of 2006, Love Kills returned to their rehearsal space and studio to further hone their creative direction. The result was the four-song 'Teenage Girls' EP: a record that retained the band's hook-centred songwriting approach but packed itself inside a more heavily-compressed, highly-reverbed, sonic space. The disc was released alongside the band's debut appearance at 'Edge 102.1 Nu Music Nite' at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, and presaged another string of successful west-end shows including an industry showcase hosted by True North Records at the Drake Underground on Queen West, and an instore appearance at the influential Ukula Boutique.
In spring of 2007, Love Kills released their third and current EP recording: 'Carry Me Home'. The addition of two separate cello lines for each of the 6 songs on the EP marking a definite shift in the band's creative approach. The need for accomplished cellists to perform both live and on the recordings, proved a significant challenge to the band's do-it-yourself production techniques. But the resulting EP, finally mixed and mastered for release on May 12, 2007, proved to be the band's most accomplished and well-received record to date. Released at Neu+ral Underground's high-profile 'Kensington Station' night to high acclaim from critics and followers, the new material has quickly proven to be a staple both in the band's live set and in the DJ mix at Neu+ral.
Love Kills have recently received notable press from NOW Magazine and several prominent music weblogs in light of their anxiously-anticipated, and well-received debut at Toronto's NXNE Festival. They continue to live and work in and around College Street's Little Italy and Trinity-Bellwoods in Toronto's west end.
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