Music
Press
“It has taken Simon Love seven years and some 25 band members to get his second album, but it was all worthwhile: Technicolour is a pop gem. The Loves are unashamedly indebted to the 1960s, but in a novel twist on recent retro trends, here's a 1960s band who never sound like the Beach Boys or the Byrds. Ten tracks in, they launch into some pah-pah-pah vocal harmonies, but even then it's more Turtles than Wilson brothers. The band claim to have looked for the middle ground between the Monkess and the Velvet Underground, and, incredibly, they've found it; though I My She Love You, She'll Break Your Heart...Again and Jazz My Bads reveal they've also paid close attention to the Yardbirds and the Kingsmen. The ultra-tight riffs and bouncy melodies of Xs And Os, Honey and Summertime are so catchy that, were The Loves a genuine 1960s band, this would surely be their greatest hits compilation. 4/5 ME” - The Sunday Times, Album of the Week - Sunday Times
“ON first listening to 'Technicolour', the second album from Cardiff's The Loves, the temptation is to go back to the inlay card to check the album was indeed released in 2007. It is, but it manages to pull off the trick of perfectly capturing the spirit of classic sixties beat pop while still sounding utterly relevant in a way that only Teenage Fanclub have previously matched.
Making sounds first made forty-odd years ago sound this fresh can't come easy ' this album was two years in the making ' but it was time well spent. 'I My She Love You' has a killer 'Pretty Woman' guitar and keyboard riff and 'Xs And Os' is sixties surf pop psychedelia that Brian Wilson wouldn't kick out of bed for eating crumbs.
Throw in the odd touch of stomping seventies glam rock and Velvet Underground smoothness as well as a modern pop sensibility and with sustained radio play The Loves will soon have The Magic Numbers looking nervously over their shoulders.
The crowning glory is 'The Rainbow Connection', a cover of a Kermit The Frog song from the Muppet Movie. It starts off like the most heartbreaking song in the world and ends like The Polyphonic Spree at their most uplifting. I await Razorlight's cover of 'It's Not Easy Being Green' - Manchester Evening News - Manchester Evening News
“The Loves are part Monkees and part Os Mutantes but for ‘One-Two-Three’ they’re T-Rex. It’s a stupid/genius gram rock stomper with girl-group harmonies, an air-punching chorus and a sleezy groove so unashamedly retro it ought to come with free six-inch platform boots and a feather boa. Other songs on this excellent EP are the bittersweet ‘Chelsea Girl (2007)’, a version of a song from their 2004 debut album with much better singing from Jenna while ‘When I Get My Gun’ is a Dylanish revenge fantasy with full-on Velvet Underground blow out at the end. The EP finishes with the Loves’ glorious garage-punk version of ‘Pablo Picasso’, awash with groaning keyboards good enough to draw comparison with the Music Machine or the Seeds. However, there’s no disguising the fact that “asshole” sounds tougher in an accent from Boston Bay, not Cardiff Bay” - SoundsXP - SoundsXP
“Try all the ECT you want, hapless punter. Attack your cerebral cortex with shards of broken glass if you must. But by cannily utilising the Jackson 5 hypothesis – that one-two-threes stick in your brain as easily as ABC – Simon Love has ensured there’s nothing in the entire spectrum of medical science that’ll get this one out of your head.
A football-chant simple glam-rock stomper so catchy it makes Rhianna’s 'Umbrella' sound like free jazz performed on out-of-tune instruments by tone-deaf chimpanzees. This one will be bouncing around your frontal lobes long after you’ve been admitted to the Sunset Home for Elderly Indie Popsters.
It sits alongside the country-punkish revenge fantasy 'When I Get My Gun', a revved-up cover of Jonathan Richman’s proto-punk classic, 'Pablo Picasso', and a chiming live version of 'Chelsea Girl', taken from the band’s first album, 'Love'.
Like a raucous family reunion in EP format, the songs are all different but clearly share the same DNA – melody in spades, spiced with punk rock aggression, and bristling with teenage energy.
“My favourite album is the Velvet Underground’s 'Loaded' because all the songs sound so different to each other. We try to do that and I think that’s why people don’t understand us; we haven’t got an overall sound,” explained Simon Love recently.
Prepare to carry on being misunderstood, Loves. And, on this showing, long may it continue” - Penny Black Music - Penny Black Music
Discography
SINGLES:
- Little Girl Blues / She'll Break Your Heart - Boobytrap Records
- Boom-A-Bang Bang Bang - Track & Field
- Just Like Bobby D - Track & Field
- Shake Yr Bones - Track & Field
- Xs and Os - Fortuna Pop!
EP:
- 1,2,3 - Fortuna Pop!
LPs:
- Love - Track & Field
- Technicolour - Fortuna Pop!
Photos
Bio
The Loves are Cardiff's lo-fi pop heroes who return with a new EP '1-2-3' on Fortuna Pop!, released in October 07.
The group formed in 2000 and following various band member changes, have settled down to a steady line-up of Simon on lead vocals / guitar, Liz on keyboards/backing vocals, Danielle on bass, Ed on keyboards / guitar, Spencer on drums and Jenna on backing vocals.
The band were one of the first artists to release a record on Huw Stephens' singles club Boobytrap Records, which caught the attention of London-based label Track & Field Organisation (Broken Family Band, Of Montreal, Tompaulin, Great Lakes), who later went on to release their debut album 'Love' in 2004.
During this time The Loves were lucky enough to record 4 Peel sessions - including a Valentine's Day special from Peel Acres itself.
Over the years the band have played with acts such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Rapture, The Apples in Stereo, The Tyde, Of Montreal, The Soft Boys, Vic Godard & the Subway Sect, Help She Can't Swim, Darren Hayman (Hefner), Bearsuit, The Cribs and Pop Levi.
A second LP 'Technicolour' was released in February 07 on Fortuna Pop! and achieved the Sunday Times Album of the Week, featuring the single 'Xs and Os / She'll Break Your Heart Again'.
More recently the band have been receiving airplay on BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, BBC 6 Music, XFM, Radio Wales and appeared live in session for Mark Riley.
EP '1,2,3' is taken from a third album which the band has nearly finished recording at Soup Studios in London, with producer Simon Trought (The Clientele / Television Personalities / Jim Reid), to be released later in 2008.
WEBSITE: http://www.myspace.com/lovetheloves
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