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The Love Letter Band: Even the Pretty Girls Take Medicine
Thrust, tremble, hear, fall, drink, jump, love, crash, hope, last, throw and chatter. All these verbs appear in the song titles of The Love Letter Bands newest LP Even the Pretty Girls Take Medicine. Maybe its just me, but that seems like a lot of vigorous actions for one album. The Love Letter Band makes good on their titles though, by presenting an album of eclectic lo-fi tunes that, while not all master-works of song-writing, still resonate with the performers energy. The Love Letter Band handles lo-fi conventions with apparent skill and comfort, which, combined with a deft sense of melody and instrument balance gives Even the Pretty Girls Take Medicine its vitality and life. I Thrust these Trembling Fists into the Air, is the opening track, and it sets the mood for the rest of the album. Background chatter gives way to a simple, overdriven acoustic guitar line, which is eventually supported by descending synths and even more overdriven drums. The lead vocals are roughly spoken/ shouted/ sung in a partial monotone, and they fit the instrumentation perfectly. It all comes together with a sense of urgency and movement that lends itself to sing-alongs and feet tapping. The slow down at the end eases into the soft guitar and xylophone of I Heard a Sound.
Latter tracks add more synth, a
mix of acoustic instruments and a variety of vocal stylings that make the
progress of the album very interesting. It is impressive that the Love Letter
band is able to produce so much diversity in the individual songs without
throwing off the coherence of the album. It feels as if there is some sort of
pattern behind the tracks that makes them work well as a whole, without making
the songs themselves feel derived or formulaic. In the end, this is a pleasant
album with plenty of rewards for the dedicated listener. My only complaint is
with the length. At almost exactly thirty minutes, I always end up wanting a
little more when this one comes to an end.
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