It’s hard to place North Carolina’s The Love Language within the current spectrum of indie rock in North America. They make no use of synthesizers, drum-machines or afro-beats. They’re not introspective folkies, world-weary hipsters or symphonic maestros. In some ways their closest relative was Black Rebel Motorcycle Club circa Howl (their best album, for the record), as both share a love of the modern indie-alt-rock as well as old world Americana. If The Love Language’s debut doesn’t have quite the grandiosity of Howl, in nine songs that sound like they were recorded on a four-track in a basement, the band still manage to crack out a minor lo-fi masterpiece without a tenth of the budget or hype. And on their first try no less. 
Yes, The Love Language is a sort of masterpiece. It is lo-fi. And the two are not mutually exclusive. The band make up with solid pop song craft what they lack in fidelity, and they still manage to make the whole thing sound pretty. Using xylophones, Beatles-esque harmonies and a healthy amount of tambourine (the greatest instrument in existence, for the record), The Love Language bring the explosive majesty of songs like “Lolita†and “Providence†to full fruition, uncompromised. Songs like the aforementioned make up the “modern world†side of the album, which showcases a band that combines elements of The Strokes’ cool (The Strokes is a bad touch point though, Phoenix is somewhat better) with the Arcade Fire’s elegance. Still, The Love Language never really sound like either of those bands. It’s likely not that they are influenced by those bands in particular, but more by the effect those bands have made on the entire current musical climate.
The other (dark?) side of the album is made up of back-porch style Americana numbers that The Love Language subtly infuse with unorthodox harmonies and chord changes to elevate them from mere retrospection. The contrasting “worlds†of the album give it a certain character, however, they also in a way make it somewhat schizophrenic, like splicing It’s Never Been Like That with Music From Big Pink. Regardless, ½ great album + ½ great album = 1 great album.
It’s a shame that pure talent doesn’t quite equal popularity, as the fidelity of the album alone guarantees that it probably won’t be heard outside of the headspaces of a handful of hipsters, curious listeners and supportive reviewers. Still, a great album is a great album, and time has proven that some album have a karmic way of eventually finding their audience. Let’s hope that The Love Language is one of those albums.
The Love Language will be out this spring on Bladen County Records.
Tracklisting:
01. Two Rabbits
02. Lalita
03. Stars
04. Nocturne
05. Sparxxx
06. Nightdogs
07. Manteo
08. Providence
09. Graycourt
The Love Language: website | myspace
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