The Love LanguageLibraries
Merge Records [2010]
Fire Note Says: Libraries finds The Love Language expanding their sound and creating a much more grandiose soundscape.
Album Review:
The Love Language took us a little by surprise last year with their solid lo-fi self-titled debut, so the anticipation was quite high for this quick return sophomore album Libraries. The biggest difference you will notice right away is that their previous lo-fi effect has been slightly cleaned up and The Love Language progress into a much more organized sound. Some of this is to the credit of engineer/producer BJ Burton who joined up with one-man band Stuart McLamb and helped guide this newer direction. The result sounds like a natural move and McLamb takes on a stronger crooner role on the album, as his vocals clearly are much more front and center. The instruments on Libraries also play a deeper role, as the albums highs and lows move in and out as stringed instruments soar. Libraries is expanded and more grandiose then The Love Language debut and I will admit that I miss some of the more simplistic lo-fi sounds. What I do like is that Stuart McLamb has never sounded more confident and Libraries feels like a good transition record, that introduces more of his swaying mid-tempo numbers, which each have a nice build up into something memorable. Libraries may not have the total unique factor going for it as The Love Language debut but it still highlights Stuart McLamb as a new talent that I only think will get better from here!
Key Tracks: "Pedals", "Brittany's Back", "Heart To Tell"
Bands With Similar Fire:
Jens Lekman
Magnetic Fields
Peter Bjorn And John
The Love Language: The Love Language [Fire Note Review 3/5/09]
Official Love Language Website
The Love Language MySpace
The Love Language Facebook
Merge Records
-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony
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