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Avg: 3.5 (98 ratings)
- Date Released: November 11, 2008
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Indie Rock
- Label: What's Your Rupture?
Skronky, poppy Swedes stay the course... thankfully
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We Say...
Love Is All's Nine Times That Same Song appeared out of nowhere at the beginning of 2006, frothing with a rabid, sugar-rush energy. The group was irresistible, playing a simultaneously epic and childlike brand of post-punk that was uniquely their own: celebratory and infectious where others had been dour and perverse. At the center of that joyous noise was sing-yelper Josephine Olausson, chirping, talking and screaming all over Nine Times' big, bouncy echo-blasted tracks. Post-punk had never sounded so fun; indie-pop had never felt so powerful.
Two-plus years have passed since Nine Times, and as the new album begins you get the sense that the band has been locked in a cage for that time, clawing with pent-up energy. The first three songs are raucous blasts, brimming with crashing, desperate energy, breakneck tempos and booming, enveloping reverb. Although the crazed start is a thrill of its own, Hundred Things really picks up with the (relatively) clean "Last Choice," a ringing tune with punchy swells.
From there, LIA tend to let the songs stand on their own, angling the focus from massive-sounding to massively hooky. The propulsive pop of "Sea Sick" could inspire (at least) three different singalongs as it shifts and dips between swinging and stomping. "Wishing Well," which might as well be the Clean's "Tally Ho" part two, is giddy, fizzy perfection — if there's one moment on Hundred Things that will stick with you for weeks, it's this keyboard riff.
In making this record, Love is All all but ignored that oft-repeated post-punk credo to "rip it up and start again," instead relying more on their already-winning formula. The result: another set of full-grin-inducing, messily un-perfect pop songs. -
They Say...
Love Is All's second album, A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night, beats the dreaded sophomore slump by doing two important things. First, they hew closely to the tinny and overloaded production of Nine Times That Same Song that worked so brilliantly, but introduce enough changes to keep the album from being a carbon copy. The production (by the band and Wyatt Cusick of Aislers Set) keeps the hissy clatter and the cavernous reverb, with Josephine Olausson's vocals distorted and fuzzy. The drums and bass are relatively free of noise though, which gives the record a punch and power the debut didn't have. A couple tracks, like the disco meets Wall of Sound "Last Choice" and the restrained ballad "More Uncertain Future," show a subtlety in sonic approach that's brand-new and welcome. For all its ecstatic charms, the clatter and clamor of Nine Times' sound and performances did wear you out a bit by the end of the record. Weary in a good, sweat-soaked way for sure, but still, it's nice to have variety. Second, they wrote songs that are just as good as the stellar batch they wrote for Nine Times. These are tracks that will propel you out of your seat and toward the nearest empty space suitable for dancing, songs that will hit you right in the gut with their unguarded emotion, and tunes that you will be singing along with the second time the chorus hits. The Clean-referencing "Wishing Well," the furiously rocking "New Beginnings," and the careening "Movie Romance" are all destined to be stuck in your head for days; the weary loneliness of "Last Choice" and aching melancholy of "When Giants Fall" will break your heart; and by the end of the record you'll be left wondering if the band can possibly top these two albums. Taken together, they position Love Is All as one of the best post-punk revivalist groups, and arguably the equal of their influences. Whether you stand behind that statement or not, A Hundred Things Keep Me Up at Night is as good as indie rock gets in the late 2000s.
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| 01. |  |
New Beginnings |
2:54 |
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| 02. | |
Give It Back |
3:17 |
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| 03. | |
Movie Romance |
2:31 |
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| 04. | |
Last Choice |
2:28 |
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| 05. | |
Sea Sick |
3:42 |
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| 06. | |
Wishing Well |
2:44 |
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| 07. | |
When Giants Fall |
3:37 |
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| 08. | |
Rumours |
3:07 |
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| 09. | |
Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites |
1:52 |
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| 10. | |
A More Uncertain Future |
2:52 |
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| 11. | |
19 Floors |
3:47 |
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11 Total Tracks, 32:51 Total Length
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Credits
- Fredrik "Frippe" Eriksson - Saxophone // Wyatt Cusick - Producer // Wyatt Cusick - Engineer // Wyatt Cusick - Mixing // Jen Appel - Publicity
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