Lovelikefire – Tear Ourselves Away

Lovelikefire’s debut album storms into motion with killer track ‘William’, laying the groundwork for their emotive, highly produced sound. ‘William, I’m not in love with you anymore,’ sings vocalist Ann Yu in her sweet-but-savvy East-coast voice, as caterwauling guitar riffs and marching drums create a shiny, polished sound as clean as the San Francisco streets they originated in. So crisp is the sound that it’s no surprise to discover that they’ve worked with Jeff Saltzman, who’s produced some of The Killers’ work amongst others. Don’t let this put you off though - apart from the fact that Yu sounds unmistakeably like she is singing ‘Will Young’ ("Don’t pretend tomorrow will be better for you, Will Young" ”“ wise advice perhaps), things are looking so far, so stylish.The next track, too, represents a cleverly mixed brew of simultaneous drum-and-guitar flourishes, the elements brought together creatively and buffered by solid arrangement and polished riffs. It results in a mature sound and the kind of indie anthems that more experienced bands frequently fail to achieve. Clean and catchy, seemingly simple melodies reach accomplished crescendos in tracks like ‘Crow’s Feet’.There are, however, a few factors that prevents Lovelikefire from reaching all-too dizzy heights in their debut. Yu’s sweet voice suits the quieter lulls, but at times the songs sound like they are demanding the level of yowling Sleater Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein or Karen O is renowned for. There are also moments when Lovelikefire’s signature sound ”“ heavily loaded, polished riffs and marching drums ”“ sound a little much at times, almost as if another bridge, another slow-time lull, another guitar flourish, have been tacked on to the song. The track ‘Signs’ exemplifies this, stylistically all over the place and building up to ”¦ not a lot, actually.The band aren’t quite as exciting as the shiny, cosmopolitan Yeah Yeah Yeahs sentiment they recall, with some melodies being a little on the bland side and over-long tracks like ‘Far From Home’. The live experience sounds like it could be a little too squeaky clean. You could take their efforts as attempts at anthemic posturing that aren’t always justified in terms of quality, almost as if they’re nervous to strip back the layers in case there isn’t so much substance. They seem to be more successful when they’re not thinking so big, launching into carelessly confident tracks or more delicate attempts like ‘My Left Eye’, instead of over-thinking things.However, just when you lose your faith in the album, Lovelikefire leap into a song like ‘Stand In Your Shoes’ ”“ great galloping riffs, gorgeous melodies with well-fitted lyrics and the emotion in Yu’s voice coming through at a pitch that suits her perfectly. Just on the basis of ‘William’ and this track alone, the band are clearly capable of making great pop songs. Bands like the Horrors have at times been accused of being all style and scene and little substance, but at other times gone on to achieve much better things. More than meets the eye? It’s worth keeping an ear open and dipping your toes in to find out how deep the band’s depths will turn out to be.Lovelikefire on Myspace