Lightships | Electric Cables

Domino (2012)
By JONATHAN DONALDSON  |  April 3, 2012
3.5 3.5 Stars

lightships-1
Aside from Lightships being a boss band name and Electric Cables being a righteous title, what this hot number really has going for it is that it's the first solo outing from Teenage Fanclub bassist/co-vocalist/co-songwriter Gerald Love, the singer with the really soft, gentle voice that's usually juxtaposed with Norman Blake's more direct, pleading hooks. And after Blake took a turn last year in his side project Jonny, it's more than high time for Love, 25 years into his career, to give us more of his own songs. Being given a Gerald Love solo album in some ways is like picking all the strawberries out of a fruit salad just because you feel like it, and then retreating to your hammock for an afternoon siesta. Unwavering in its gentle simplicity, "The Warmth of the Sun" basks the listener in soft vocals, tremeloed guitar, flute, and xylophone — it's like a lucid dream of one of those pretty, early Led Zeppelin songs. "Sweetness in Her Spark" freshens the air with a splash of harmony, reverb, and thick, Byrds-like harmonies that remind you to line up that date on Friday night. Anyone's pop cynicism should have a hard time getting out of bed on this one.
Related: Airman punk, The future is now, Beyond Dilla and Dipset, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Arts
| More

Most Popular
Blogs
 More: Phlog  |  Music  |  Film  |  Books  |  Politics  |  Media  |  Election '08  |  Free Speech  |  All Blogs
ARTICLES BY JONATHAN DONALDSON
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   THE UNIFIED MELODY OF SLOWDIM  |  March 20, 2013
    Slowdim drink wine with pizza. It's true. I was there.
  •   THE MARY ONETTES | HIT THE WAVES  |  March 13, 2013
    Hit the Waves is so heartfelt as a pastiche of '80s alternative music that it almost muscles its way into being brilliant.
  •   THE MODERN RETRO OF JESSE DEE  |  March 05, 2013
    On his new record On My Mind/In My Heart , the question is not if Jesse Dee can step up to the challenge of making authentic soul and R&B music in 2013, but rather how he goes about it.
  •   TAME IMPALA’S NEW SURROUND SOUND  |  March 08, 2013
    Whether it's Bradford Cox with Deerhunter, or Dan Snaith with Caribou, or Kevin Parker with Tame Impala, there must be something with this trend in sonic auteurs with cervine band names.
  •   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE BRACE FOR SUCCESS  |  February 26, 2013
    "It seems like a challenge to make something that you have to pay a lot of attention to," says Josh Dibbs.

 See all articles by: JONATHAN DONALDSON

LATEST SLIDESHOWS

All Slideshows