Sunday, March 4, 2007

we're baking like mice in the sun.


Lovedrug - Everything Starts Where It Ends.


This is the sophomore release of the indie-pop quartet known as Lovedrug. Often compared to bands like Radiohead and Coldplay, Lovedrug combines elements of those bands with a style distinctly their own.

Everything Starts builds on what they began on Pretend You're Alive, and takes the emotions deeper and the arrangements higher. It's much more complex and much more thoroughly planned than their previous album.

Beginning with the relatively upbeat "Happy Apple Poison," Lovedrug draws you in with Michael Shepard's unique vocal delivery style and atmospheric instruments. However, the Happy mood doesn't last very long. The stellar "Pushing The Shine" takes the lyrical content to a darker level, which expands into a beautiful piano-based soundscape with the songs "Castling" and "Thieving."

Often, albums tend to lose steam around this point in the tracklisting. Everything Starts is quite the exception. There's the rolling "Casino Clouds" and soaring, ballad-like "Doomsday And The Echo." Then there's "Salt Of The Earth." The eerie handclaps and chain sounds perfectly complement the cadence of the piano and Shepard's voice.

The dark pop vibe is brought to full potential in "American Swimming Lesson," with its biting lyrics, swelling chorus, and instrumentation that borders on industrial.

Overall, Everything Starts Where It Ends is a near masterpiece with the way you can sink into the Lovedrug universe and never want to leave again.

Standout Tracks: Pushing The Shine, Bleed Together, Salt Of The Earth.

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