CD Review: Lovie’s Harshmellow

by Joni Hutchinson

When I got my first CD to review for Pegasus, I ripped open the package, popped it in my Mac, and I listened to the CD with eager ears. When I finished, I handed the CD to my boss and said “You have to listen to this.” She glanced at the cover, a shot of the band members in an artistic pose surrounded by green apples, as the first track began hopefully with a decidedly rock intro… that quickly, unfortunately, gave way to a Disney-esque vocal and… is that an organ?

“Really?” She did a double-take. Yes, they are indeed all grown women – thirty-somethings from the look of it. Judging by their photos, I would have said they were a rock band with folk roots – the band pics on their MySpace (myspace.com/lovie) are artistic and edgy. Their pre-teen pop sound was just unexpected.

Lovie’s debut album, Harshmellow, will surprise listeners. It will puzzle listeners. It is unusual and unexpected. It will cause you to stare at the jacket pictures, wondering. Its title is actually pretty appropriate, but “Bittermellow” might have been better (shame they didn’t consult me!). Mellow? Some of the tracks are fairly mellow – “Close My Eyes” and “A Million Stars”, for example. The vocals are haunting and remind you of something you won’t be able to place. “Harsh” is the more operative term – particularly on the especially bitter song “All the Pretty Girls,” which describes the teenage angst of being unpopular:

"They claw at each other day after day / and I can’t think of a good thing to say about /All the pretty girls in high school (go yak yak yak) / All the pretty girls in high school (drive new cadillacs) / Well they all got athlete boyfriends and they all wear designer jeans / Always puttin’ on too much makeup and the prom is their only dream…All the pretty girls in high school MAKE ME SICK!"

After listening to this song the first time, I had to look at the album cover again to make sure that – yes, these are all grown women.

Lovie describes themselves as “FOUR girls... but not necessarily just FOR girls” and is it a necessary statement because at face value, I would have guessed that the majority of their audience would be the friends of their pre-teen daughters.

Their debut CD was recorded with Todd and Toby Pipes at BPL Studios in Dallas, Texas. I haven’t seen a live show, but the CD must not be an accurate portrayal of their talent, based on their proclamation that “girls are inspired by them, guys like to look at them, kids and grandmas can appreciate their fun, positive lyrics and the gear geeks love to lust over their fifth “member” farfisa / keyboard.”

The first track, “Mindreader”, starts off hopefully with a rock intro that quickly gives way to 80’s B-band vocals. The lead guitar is strong, but the introduction of the confusing organ sounds and weak vocals, as well as a doo-wop melody, downplays the obviously well-trained guitar.

“Release Me” has a solid acoustic start. Very nice. Enter drums. Still, very nice and listenable. Enter organ. Once again, confusing.

The writing on this CD is pretty darn good, I must say. With some whimsical lyrics and others that are definitely in the “hater” category, there is a good mix of song writing here, such as: “Lightening like a firefly / it's frightening in a dark sky / it's peeling away peeling away / like a snakeskin nightmare / Lightening like a firefly / Deep breaths of a blue bird / Your best will be her / Singing away, singing away / A rainy day love song / Your best will be her."

At best, Lovie’s sound is trite – at worst, it's downright pre-teen pop – and we like to reserve the limited spots in the pre-teen pop category for Hanson, the Jonas Brothers and Aaron Carter. They do have a fun sound and I would dare to suggest that their music might be more enjoyable live, with that personal element.

This review was submitted by a member of the Pegasus News Community