Lovecartel

Passion is a very important emotion to have, to be successful at whatever it is that you want to be successful in. Relationships can be stronger when passion is involved. Many successful businesses have ownership and employees filled with a passion for what they do. Athletes use passion as an edge to win the Lombardi trophy, World Cup, Stanley Cup, or Olympic Gold. Successful Artists use passion in Acting, Painting, Sculpting, or Music.

I believe that passion can be heard and felt in music. How many times have you seen or heard a music artist and your take away from the experience is the thought that they are missing something? Most of the time it is their compelling emotion or feeling (a.k.a. passion) that is missing in their music or performance.

If you ever get the chance to play the half time show in front of a zillion people, passion will go a long way when your instrument remains unplugged and you "mime" your own song. I just suggest that if you do it in East Rutherford New Jersey, during the month of February, you may want to keep your shirt on or you may get frostbite on your nipples. (Brrrrr . . . CHILLY Peppers)

"Battle Scars" by Lovecartel is another case in point (Passion NOT Frostbitten Nipples).

The one thing that jumps out to me while listening to this CD is Lovecartel's passion for making the music sound lively and catchy. Battle Scars is filled with diverse sounds, tones, and rhythms presented with a hipster coating of today's newer music. Lovecartel has passion on display for all to hear on this fine album.


I have many favorites on this CD. Here are a few of my most favorite :

Bathroom Stall click here to hear song
This tune is air play ready. It has a bit of swagger to it. Nice simple yet catchy chorus of "Ohs." Good hooky guitar spotlight. Great, I mean GREAT vocal trade off between Ash Kernen and Ang Bocca. Ang Bocca's vocals are full of energy and are very soulful. They work very well here.
(Note to Ang Bocca: please submit your newest original music for review. I want to hear more of your vocals.)

Lemme Hallah Atcha click here to hear song
A very Original and catchy song. The organ works very well with acoustic guitar and the efx fillers. The mix on this entire album is done well. This song is a great example of how to make synths/fx sound well in a mix. Other artists/producers/sound men tend to put synths & fx upfront. That can bleed all over and kill a song. Lemme Hallah Atcha is the best way to do it. They are there but the listener is not over powered by them.

In Between Chaos & Sleep click here to see Video
Nice choice for a first song off of the CD. What a great grove. I love the horns on this tune. Great musicianship by all parties. Some good vocal presentation. One cannot squarely place this song neatly in the "pop" category. Who cares about labels. It is just an entertaining song.

When you checkout Battle Scars you will find a groove oriented hipster vibe of music not found with many other original unsigned or independent artists of today.

After listening to this CD "Battle Scars" front to back several times I found much respect for the band LOVECARTEL. The writing, the recording, the mixing, and the packaging all seemed to be well thought out. It does have a sheik hipster feel to the entire thing and it works. It is my opinion that a few tunes have a polished twist on a form of today's pop and they are ready for commercial radio.

One of the best parts about Battle Scars is that whether you listen to it off of your MP3 or off of the radio or at the bar, you can sense their passion within their music. It is a passion that is too hot to include frostbitten nipples.

-Alex
ORIGINAL MUSIC REVIEWS
www.OriginalMusicReviews.BlogSpot.com - Original Music Reviews

Every so often, like Halley’s Comet, there is a band that lights the sky so brilliantly. Lovecartel’s Battle Scars is that comet. Sprouting from the post-punk, indie rock soil and blossoming into something all their own, Lovecartel is a band to watch.

Battle Scars kicks off with the great “In Between Chaos and Sleep,” a seamless mélange of pop rock and jazzy sax. The chorus cries out about looking into the “window of your soul” and aptly so, as Lovecartel’s soul can be found wrapped up in this perfect package. You’ll notice right away that the lead vocals are uncannily reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos. Not criticism, just fact. Here, Ash Kernan displays just as much power and emotion, and is just as much of a joy to listen to.

The great thing about Lovecartel is that they know when to blast into orbit and when to pull it back. The aforementioned intro track, “Tattooed Ambulance,” the horn-infused “Bathroom Stall,” and electro-rock pop gospel “Lemme Hallah Atcha” beg, nay demand, movement from their listeners. To quote track three, “Rhythm Section,” it beats on, beats on, beats on. In between, we are treated to the breathy and dreamy “Don’t Waste Your Time” and the lyricless beauty, “L.U.S.T.,” with its lonely, lovely, one horse town guitar strums. “Souderton” is another marvel that displays both the highs and lows, leapfrogging from a bluesy ballad to power wails and back again. It all wraps up nicely with the beach party sunset song, “Zoltar Says.” Righteous.

Lovecartel may not sound altogether “new.” Once you dig into Battle Scars, you know what to expect for its duration. But the ride is no less thrilling. Keep an ear out for them.

Rating: Bad-Ass - THATMAG