-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Ambient * Ethereal *
Artist..: Lush
Album...: Lovelife
GENRE....: Indie
STYLE....: Pop Rock, Indie Rock
LABEL....: 4AD SCENE.....: 2015-12-18
BITRATE..: 252 kbps avg STORE.....: 1996-00-00
ENCODER..: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 TRACKS....: 12
SIZE.....: 82.69MB SOURCE....: CD
URL..: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovelife_(album)
- TRACKLIST
1 Ladykillers 3:14
2 Heavenly Nobodies 2:59
3 500 3:29
4 I've Been Here Before 4:36
5 Papasan 2:36
6 Single Girl 2:35
7 Ciao! 3:30
8 Tralala 5:34
9 Last Night 5:23
10 Runaway 3:36
11 The Childcatcher 3:17
12 Olympia 5:04
Total Playtime: 45:53
Lush's third and final album, Lovelife, turns 16 this year. A sixteenth
birthday is admittedly an unusual time to revisit an album, as tradition
dictates that such occasions be reserved for anniversaries divisible by five,
but Lovelife is one of those albums that has and will likely continue to
remain uncelebrated and forgotten on its milestone anniversaries. Sure, Lush
still retains a dedicated, loyal following and continues to gain new fans,
but how often do they appear in critics' "top albums and songs of the '90s"
lists? Not often enough.
One of the guarantees in the world of music journalism is that any discussion
of the history and relevance of shoegaze will inevitably focus on how Cocteau
Twins and The Jesus and Mary Chain pioneered the shimmering style, while My
Bloody Valentine perfected it. Sometimes, Slowdive and Ride will be included,
but Lush will likely earn a passing reference at best. Despite generally
positive reviews and a commercial viability that found the London quartet
playing television shows everywhere and successfully touring American cities
other British bands of the '90s never dared to tread, Lush has seemingly been
forgotten or omitted for consideration as one of the shoegaze greats. This
diminished legacy is at least partly because Lovelife is when Lush allegedly
"went pop."
"Ladykillers" opens Lovelife with an attention-seizing circular melody and
spunky vocals from Miki Berenyi that are no longer floating along in a sea of
reverb. Confidently at the forefront, Berenyi eviscerates Anthony Kiedis,
Matt Sharp, and men with transparent agendas and dubious attitudes towards
women everywhere with an infectiously sarcastic wit. It's what would have
been hyped as a girl power anthem had it been released a couple years later.
Driving the point home that Lush is too confident and extroverted to be
content with ethereal drifting and effects pedal-fixating are spirited power
pop anthems "Heavenly Nobodies" and chart hit "Single Girl". The sublimely
sweet "500" is probably the finest ode to a car of the era and a bona fide
90's staple. Pulp hero Jarvis Cocker guests on "Ciao!", which is enough to
make the song a fascinating novelty at the very least. Here, Cocker and
Berenyi channel Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood as they go back and forth,
each one-upping the other's "I'm so much better off without you, so fuck you"
sentiment. This death-of-a-relationship celebration is a potent anti-love
song that's especially cathartic for anyone who's ever needed convincing that
they were more over a former flame than they actually were.
Aside from the earworms, Lush is still in touch with their roots on Lovelife.
"Tralala" and "Last Night" capture that haunting, dreamy ambience that made
the arrangements on Spooky so stellar, while enveloping it with layers of
mystery and trippy sensuality. Yet, the general consensus is that Lush ran
away from shoegaze in favor of Britpop on Lovelife.
Since shoegaze and dream pop had been on the decline for a few years, some
critics and fans have dismissed Lovelife as a case of bandwagon-jumping. In
the mid-90's, the infamous war between Oasis and Blur dominated the media and
the charts, Pulp achieved superstar status after a legendary headlining
performance at Glastonbury, Ocean Color Scene, The Boo Radleys, and other
second-generation acts of the scene were on the rise. In short, it was the
peak of Britpop. Although Lush never set out to make a such a record, its
touch persists throughout the album. As the dominant style of the time, it
was inevitably going to serve as one of the largest wells of non-retro
influence for a forward-seeking band to draw upon. Even if they had
deliberately shifted gears to fit the times, is that so wrong? M83 has been
increasingly dialing back the shoegaze stylings and scored a crossover hit
with "Midnight City", yet there's nary an accusation of jumping onto the
idealized-vision-of-the-'80s synthpop bandwagon, and such acts are hotter
than ever. Rather, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is nearly universally acclaimed
for its grand ambition.
Pulp got to ride the Britpop wave because they had some anthemic and
unabashedly English tunes filled with hooks at exactly the right time.
However, once they released the bleak, anti-catchy This Is Hardcore in 1998,
it became apparent that their blend of glam, disco, and post-punk was always
fundamentally different from the sound traditionally associated with the
genre, such as that of Oasis, Supergrass, and Blur. The history of Lush
parallels this rise and subsequent shattering of illusion. Yes, Lush's jangly
sound on their debut album Spooky was brought to life in part by none other
than producer Robin Guthrie, but even then the band clearly had a poppier
side. Songs such as "Superblast!" and Split's "Hypocrite" are as purely pop
as any of the singles from Lovelife. The fact that the band's sound shifted
on Lovelife is indisputable, but it's just not that drastic of a change since
Lush was always more than just a purely shoegaze outfit.
Back in 2010, Graham Bendel of The Quietus argued that Lush is not only just
as deserving as My Bloody Valentine of shoegaze legend status, but that they
are an even better band. One aspect of Lush that Bendel skipped in his
compelling case is the significance of Lovelife. The understated legacy of
Lush seems to signal the danger of turning away from shoegaze, yet artists
that have been similarly labeled in recent years, such as M83, Asobi Seksu,
and School of Seven Bells, continue to move on and evolve. Like My Bloody
Valentine's failed, costly attempts to follow-up Loveless, the stylistic
shift of Lush indicates that the genre is one in which an artist can sound
fresh for a limited time only.
Would My Bloody Valentine still be held with the same mythical status had
they followed-up Loveless with that reported jungle music experiment or "gone
pop?" It's doubtful. Perhaps what has changed over the past 16 years is that
"pop" is no longer considered such a dirty word. Rather than relegated to
guilty pleasure status or dismissed as a symbol of artifice and pandering,
the value of a good hook is more widely appreciated by even the most jaded of
music consumers. Whether it's ethereal or anthemic, the sound of Lush is an
irresistible one, and Lovelife deserves a reexamination.
- Cosequence of Sound - April 28, 2012
*
BBC Review 2009 - A bittersweet collection that's stood the test of time.
Although they produced three of the Britpop era's best-loved singles û
Ladykillers, the sublime 500 (you know the one: "shake baby, shake") and
Single Girl, all of which feature here û Lush's first two albums were firmly
entrenched in shoegaze territories, more Slowdive than Sleeper.
1996's Lovelife, their third album, marked a shift in sound, from shimmering
introspection to confidently upbeat indie and sparkling, hook-laden pop. But
while the melodies became catchier the four-piece didn't compromise their
integrity, and this album represents no cynical pursuit of the pounds and
pence that stacked up around Britpop's finest acts (and, depressingly, many
of its less-than-brilliant ones). Compared to albums of the time from the
likes of Cast, Menswear and Shed Seven, all of which have dated terribly,
Lovelife stands up well to contemporary scrutiny. It exudes a quality that,
while not timeless, will remain obvious for some years yet.
There are several signs of its year of origin evident throughout its 12
tracks û scene idol Jarvis Cocker descends from his lofty perch above the
wannabe pack to duet with singer Miki Berenyi on Ciao! (also the title of
2001's greatest hits set) û but notable diversions from the Britpop path can
cause a lump to swell in the throat. Papasan is a stripped-bare affair, the
interwoven voices of Berenyi and Emma Anderson truly raising the hairs, and
Tralala is the atmospheric opposite of its onomatopoeically jolly title, a
downbeat delight.
Of course, Ladykillers and 500 are the hits, and evoke memories of teenage
days where all possibilities seemed achievable, where one's future wasn't
written by forefathers or schooling limitations. But nostalgia only elevates
Lovelife so far û it's the accomplished songwriting on show that ensures it
should be as celebrated today as it was back when. It's a true tragedy that
the band's upward trajectory was so dramatically halted in October 1996, when
drummer Chris Acland committed suicide. Despite trying to soldier on, the
band officially split in 1998.
An album tinged with a sense of sadness that didn't appear quite so
significant at the time of its original release, Lovelife is a bittersweet
collection of songs crafted so well in the first place that they've
effectively withstood the ravages of time. And those singles, with their
sing-or-shout-along choruses, rightfully remain indie-club classics to this
day.
-=- SHGZ -=-
P.S.
** Thanks ***
*** BCC FNT IPC SSR ***
*** For Knowing Where The Music Is At ***
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