MINE
Here we go, hanging out in Camden/ Drinking with my girlfriends on a Saturday night
Every time I think of this CD, the opening words to Ladykillers just run through my head on repeat. I. Love. This. Album. I used to have the chorus from Ladykillers as my email signoff. Ciao! has gotten me through many a dark day. Single Girl was me many a time. If ever I'm feeling blue, Lovelife is certain to cheer me up.
Of course, the band came to an early end after this album, when their drummer committed suicide. A point a recent commenter on an article in the Guardian about the death of former Stereophonics band member Stuart Cable chose to call "the curse of the 90's indie drummer" also mentioning Space and the Wonderstuff. Kind of gruesome, but it makes you think...
VERDICT: TURN IT UP (I know the score I've heard it all before)
YOURZ
While Mine clearly has a great love for this album, I must confess that *gasp* I don't know it that well. In the very early 90s, I had friends who were huge fans of just about everything 4AD (hi Nadine and Tim) but by the time this album came out, they'd moved away and I'd was more interested in lo-fi and slacker rock than the Brit-pop stylings of Lush.
But there was a time when shoegazer was a big thing with my friends and I and Lush, along with bands like Ride, Curve, Pale Saints, Charlatans, My Bloody Valentine and, particularly for me, Swervedriver (see our review of Mezcal Head here) were played and discussed with much fervour. In fact, friendships were made and lost depending on which shoegazer band you liked or hated. Such was our completely irrational, unfounded belief in the power of such bands. (I'm feeling a little smug as the only survivors of that period were my favourite - Swervedriver. Who's the cool one now, huh?)
For the most part, Lovelife lives up to its reputation for being one of the classic mid-90s British albums, with those gorgeous soaring harmonies and jangly-pop stylings. I particularly like the opener, Ladykiller, Single Girl and the vaguely trip hoppy Last Night. But the big surprise and the track of the album for me, is Ciao!, a duo between lead Lushette, Miki, and Pulp's Jarvis cocker. Worth the price of the album, this one.
But there was a time when shoegazer was a big thing with my friends and I and Lush, along with bands like Ride, Curve, Pale Saints, Charlatans, My Bloody Valentine and, particularly for me, Swervedriver (see our review of Mezcal Head here) were played and discussed with much fervour. In fact, friendships were made and lost depending on which shoegazer band you liked or hated. Such was our completely irrational, unfounded belief in the power of such bands. (I'm feeling a little smug as the only survivors of that period were my favourite - Swervedriver. Who's the cool one now, huh?)
For the most part, Lovelife lives up to its reputation for being one of the classic mid-90s British albums, with those gorgeous soaring harmonies and jangly-pop stylings. I particularly like the opener, Ladykiller, Single Girl and the vaguely trip hoppy Last Night. But the big surprise and the track of the album for me, is Ciao!, a duo between lead Lushette, Miki, and Pulp's Jarvis cocker. Worth the price of the album, this one.
VERDICT: TURN IT UP particularly track 7
For more information: http://www.4ad.com/lush
