This is a TGEFM reader-submitted review. It may have been edited for content, spelling, or grammar but otherwise reflects the thoughts and opinions of the submitter.
Review by financial_powerbomb
Specialist Subject Records – 10 Feb 2022
All Away Lou is Lou all the way
I have been lookout for Lou Hanman’s new project. All Away Lou is the moniker for her solo act. Lou is a great musician, who you might recognize from Caves, RVIVR, and more. She’s also a nice human and I met her once when RVIVR did a tour in Jakarta. All Away Lou takes a different direction than Caves, leaning towards being more personal, and is fully driven by Lou’s creative catharsis.
The LP Things Will Change features ten new songs that present a nice waving indie-punk vibe. I like the opening track “Looks Right”, which was also a pre-release single. The straight-forward vocal melodies during the verse which is perfect for the fans to sing along to. The track “Try As I Might” might be one of your favorites to check out, too. The simple chorus of “Try As I Might” repeated a couple of times simply sticks in your head. Also, another lovely part of this song is its lead guitar which is filled up with a fuzzy sound. This seems to be one of Lou’s signature styles for many musical projects she’s in.
Besides louder and upbeat songs, the album also features some more melodious tunes. “Joyful Life” is filled up with an acoustic guitar sound which reminds me a bit of Belle And Sebastian‘s vibe, and has a vocal harmony that fills up the song. It brings a beautiful compliment to the tune. It’s good song to listen to while gardening or just chilling in the park.
“Wonderful Life” has a more positive angle for its lyrics. The Chorus is beautiful yet chilling at the same time. Probably it’s a new thing for Lou herself as some of the songs were more contemplative and downtempo compared to Caves.
The album contains many good songs, but I must note that there are some that don’t hit as hard. Compared to some of the great songs on the album, I would have expected more of the tracks to have more vocal hooks and unexpected chord progressions to make it more colorful.
financial_powerbomb is a part-time punk, owner of Rizkan Records, and prolific music blogger in Indonesia. As an ESL writer, he’s looking to expand his footprint with more reviews in the English language, and TGEFM is more than happy to help out.
