09.15.08
It’s not for the cock, it’s for the Lovve
Lovvers- “Think” (Wichita)
Silence. The fast, wild strums of a battered electric guitar. Drums hit so hard, the skins sound at breaking point. A maniac’s voice, wide eyed with hunger, through a tinny, lo fi microphone. This is the sound of “Human Hair”, the opening song on Lovvers mini album “Think” and, before you know it, the blood is racing around your body and you’re wide awake. Throughout this release, the music refuses to slow down and, with the 7 songs clocking in at just under 13 minutes, “Think” is a fast and powerful attack on the senses.
“No Romantics” continues in the same vein, snarling it’s way through a fucked up groove and smearing distortion and feedback all over the top. “Teenage Shutdown” builds up a wall of persistent wailing with rattling drums, feedback soaked guitars and shouting vocals before stripping away to reveal the rolling groove of the bass guitar. This song really sums up what Lovvers do best; during the sinister, almost boogie-esque whip lash of a song, it all sounds like The Stooges getting drunk with the New York Dolls before everything turns sour and punches are thrown. In other words, everything that’s right with punk music.
This is a music that exists in a time capsule, hidden away and very much separate from the modern music scene as a whole. The fantastic thing about Lovvers is that they are completely timeless yet, in no way, a throwback band or retro rockers. They are noisy and vital and they demand your full attention.
While “Think” is in your face and abrasive, it never oversteps the mark to use unnecessary and crude shock tactics which would only serve to water them down, ala Towers of London. This band of misfits are a twisted, energetic and spiky machine taking in the best parts of punk since the genre was invented (from 1960s garage punk to grunge, stopping off at London 1977 on the way) yet they have something, at the heart of their music, which really just wants to make people dance and have fun. That’s the overall feel of this album. After the first thrilling listen, you may feel like you’ve been slapped in the face very hard and fast and yet, perversely, you want to keep doing it over and over again.