Wiretap Records – 25 June 2021
Sun kissed Americana meets realist lyricism on Lovebreakers debut, Primary Colours.
Things are looking up for Birmingham quartet Lovebreakers, not only are they embarking on a tour with Social Distortion, but their debut album Primary Colours is out now on Wiretap Records. It is a record that feels heavily steeped in the throes of nostalgia, both lyrically and in the early noughties Indie sound that predominates. In places the tracks feel lifted from a time of excessively tight jeans (more on that later), mingled with floppy fringes, battered canvas shoes and a polo shirt of some description. However, theirs is not a worldview predicated solely on backwards looking glances and there is an eager, anticipatory tone discernible in these ten tracks. Equally their sound is not solely rooted in one genre, as dashes of pop punk peek through along with a touch of Ska and some more classic Rock and Roll influences.
As the cover, which is a reworked image of a Library in Santa Monica, suggests, the band are leaning into an American influenced sun kissed sound. Tracks which are sonically evocative of a longing for the open road are often grounded lyrically by a more pragmatic observational approach. “Eye Roller” is the first song and it starts things at a mid tempo pace, the controlled use of feedback giving way to some tight fretwork. The song muses on a lack of ambition and direction, a fairly downbeat opener, the vocals effectively convey a weariness at watching a friend make bad decisions, ‘Is this all you wanna do, take drugs with no clue?'
“Family Man” explores the topic of raising children, with an earnest matter of fact look at the challenges that ensue. Reference to cleaning people carriers and saving for a holiday may not typically constitute the preoccupation of rock songs. However they serve to locate Perry's lyrical observation in the relatable uncertainties of the everyday. The song has an animated ska-tinged chorus bolstered by some brass and a back beat that accentuates the underlying positive sentiment. “Horizons” is probably the best example of the album's inclination towards a dichotomy between reliving the past and looking to the future. It also explicitly acknowledges a band that feel like a key influence, as the singer reflects on friends wanting to stay young and ‘wear my skinny Jeans, feel like a Libertine.' The riposte to this fear of aging comes in the repeated assertion that there's, ‘no need to run from time.'
Primary Colours sets out Lovebreakers stall with a confidently delivered swagger. The songs consider a range of positions and states of mind but ultimately lean heavily towards an affirmative stance. Across the record their sound has one foot firmly in a quotidian commentary on their native Birmingham and one in the luminous vistas of LA. It is a balancing act that has obviously led to a productive juxtaposition, with songs that meld each aspect to good effect.