Lovekevins Vs. The Snow by: Tom Bradbury Mon:18-Jun-07 Label: Songs I Wish I Had Written Year: 2007 WB rating 77 out of 100

The Lovekevins are very smart guys. Taking elements of ‘90’s Eurodance (only the good bits, fortunately), early Beatles and 21st century electro-indie-pop, they have produced a highly listenable album in Vs. The Snow. Almost like a less melancholic Hot Chip, with even more of a pop sensibility, The Lovekevins are superb songsmiths. Yet somehow they manage to avoid an air of calculation, instead sounding extremely fresh.

The Beatles influence is apparent from the very first track, ‘Anorak And Other Complicated Words Beginning with an A’. ‘Anorak’ centers around an Eleanor Rigby style string section that gives it a very McCartney-esque quality. Yet it is not the strings alone that produce this effect, vocalist Blak has an uncannily similar vocal timbre to the second half of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting team. I imagine it would have to be an extremely self-conscious reference, but it is one that is extremely effectively, with Blak producing an effortlessly infectious melody that lives up to the responsibility of so blatantly sign-posting the most famous and highly revered pop band of the 20th century.  

With ‘Eurovision’, the Lovekevins move into something far less organic and considerably more steel-edged. Trebly, pitched guitars slither through phased synth as Blak sings, “I’m underweight, a mess/badly overdressed”. Hum-able but eerie, ‘Eurovision’ shows there is more to the Lovekevins than one-dimensional electro pop, while ‘Tamagochi Freestyle’ proves adept at the upbeat dance-track. A Nintendo Entertainment System-style bass part bouncing happily along, corny in an ironic way as the Lovekevins are far too sharp too not realize what they are doing – highly regarded in Japan, obviously the duo know how to speak to their audience with a song title like ‘Tamagochi Freestyle’.

It is the Lovekevins sensitivity to how an audience will respond that defines their potential – as with all pop groups. This is why emphasis should be placed on the pop in their electro-pop. While the Lovekevins may have opted out of traditional pop instrumentation for the most part, their music is firmly rooted in well-trodden melodic territory, which is why it is so remarkable that they do not sound derivative. It has become a bit of an indie cliché to talk up Sweden recently, but you can’t help being excited by the fresh sounds coming out of this Scandinavian country. Swedish pop tunes have this quality of freshness to them, where 50-year-old song angles sound brand new. Perhaps The Lovekevins say it best in ‘Tamagochi Freestlye’ though – “Burn everything new/the witches and running shoes/scrambled and overproduced/the pop song you love the most’. It is old pop wisdom they are burning new, which is what the great bands do.

While the first half of the album is nearly flawless, it fades just a bit in the second. The music becomes more withdrawn, less accessible, as if the Lovekevins fight with the snow was getting the better of them.  On ‘BlakBoy Vs. The Snow’, icy piano reflects the morbid nature of the subject material: “BlakBoy’s the type/the fruit is ripe/when snow falls in Calgary/cast for a snuff home video’. It is hardly the sentimentality of “Neighbour, come on/it’s all in your charm”, but it does have its own power. This time surrealism replaces joy and caution takes over from enthusiasm.

Vs. The Snow is an album that cannot be understood simply from referencing its genre or obvious forbearers, for its style is less important than its substance. Melodies have a timeless quality that will outlive any trendy new production style, and The Lovekevins understand this. They may refer to some pop music as being “scrambled and overproduced”, but their music definitely is pop. They don’t always hit the high marks they show they are capable of, but this album is definitely more hit than miss.