An outgrowth of the Gothic dreampop band, Love Spirals Downwards, Lovespirals cast aside much of the previous incarnation’s psychedelic gloom while retaining its romantic angst. The airy arrangements and acoustic guitars put a new spin on the kind of emotional claustrophobia at which LSD was so adept.
“And it’s oh so long to wait/I lack the patience/Give me strength” Bee sighs in “Oh So Long” as she waits to be reunited with her lover; “Swollen Sea” and “I Can’t See You” also look for beauty in the pain of lost love. But Bee and Lum don’t forget joy: “Our Nights,” “He Calls Me” (which adds an overt spiritual dimension to the proceedings) and the title tune celebrate love instead of dreading it.
Interestingly, Lum and Bee invite guitarist/songwriter Sean Bowley from Eden to contribute vocals and lyrics to two cuts; the results are strong Gothic folk/pop songs, but they don’t fit with the rest of the record. Still, those songs don’t detract from an otherwise consistently beautiful treatise on romantic expression.
For fans of: the Cardigans, Cousteau, Everything But the Girl
Another review has come in for the new holiday Projekt comp. Matt Rowe of MusicTap gives the Maxi CD a 4 out of 5 star rating and a glowing review which reads, in part:
“The Excelsis collection issued by Projekt are comprised of some of the most mystically enchanting songs that refer to the Christmas holidays. With ghostly reverence that is ethereally communicated to us by the artists that interpret the selections, we are taken on a journey of such aching perfection that we can only melt into the songs, become one with them. With the release of Excelsis 3 ~ A Prelude, Projekt have provided us with yet another great set of beautifully rendered Christmas tunes. Lovespirals gives us “Aspen Glow”, a song borrowed from John Denver and sweetly sung in as good a version as you’ll ever hear by the beautiful Anji Bee, who’s voice is as charming as a winter scene that you become lost in. Ryan and Anji’s respect for the season is deeply felt. This track has become one of my favorite seasonal songs.”
Rowe’s view on the holiday season could honestly not be in more stark contrast to the fellow from Chain D.L.K., almost comically so. But its nice to know that both people who hate and revere Christmas adore the Excelsis compilation series:
“Christmas is a wonderful time that delineates the essence of everything pure and good. It is a mystery that can never be contained nor revealed and yet, is felt as a pain of something never grasped. The fundamental nature of it is in the beauty of the songs on this disc but vanishes as soon as you take the disc out of the player. Regardless, they leave a resonant peace that you can count as ‘value added’. Cheers to Projekt for this collection and the sets that preceded it. My Christmas wish is that Projekt would carry on with this series and continue to provide us with the intrinsic magnificence that is Christmas.” – Matt Rowe
A cheeky review has been posted on gothic industrial site, Chain D.L.K. written by Shaun Hamilton. It reads, in part:
“Ahhhhh, X-Mas…. The smell of pinecones roasting on the fire — or something like that. Or was it elves? Hell, toss them in there too! I hate X-Mas, and I’m not a cheery one to have around the house at that time of year, but this CD is something good to come out of it and the series in general. Projekt has always been music made for winter time and it shows why this is my choice music to listen to on a nice winter day inside. Lovespirals kicks in with their special brand of babymaking music. I can’t help it, everything this bands sings and plays sounds so kinky and sensual, but still so classy! And it is the first time I’ve heard someone sounding dead on like Liz Frazier without being a knockoff.”
“2001: 10 Best From a Year of Blood and Fire” The Chinese curse about interesting times comes to mind when reviewing 2001: so does the line about rough beasts slouching toward Bethlehem. For much of 2001 world events made it difficult to concentrate on silly things like music and entertainment. Still, there were some excellent releases this year, as Gothic and Industrial Music lurched into the 21st century.
10/9 Tie: Lovespirals Ecstatic (Projekt) & Claire Voyant Time Again (Metropolis)
As synthpop’s rise led inexoribly to its decline, some Gothic/Industrial artists have started looking toward other avenues of inspiration. On these releases, Lovespirals and Claire Voyant provide tasty Illbient and Trip Hop influenced grooves and give us a harbinger of Goth’s Next BigThing.
(Ed. note: it should be noted that “Time Again” includes a track remixed by Lovespirals.)
A review of Temporal appeared in Outburn Magazine #12. Projekt sent along a clipping to share. It reads:
REMIXES AND SINGLES FROM INNOVATIVE SHOEGAZERS: I can’t think of any ethereal band more sonically enchanting or musically daring than Love Spirals Downwards. No group has pushed the boundaries of the shoegazer sound since the formative days of the 4AD label during the 1980’s. Over four albums, programmer, Ryan Lum, and vocalist, Suzanne Perry, have deftly weaved solemn soundscapes with intelligent, thoughtful poetry. Unafraid of emerging electronic styles, Lum embraced ideas from genres as disparate as drum & bass and goth to evolve Love Spirals Downwards’ unique sound. Temporal serves as a great introduction to their music, a thirteen track CD offering remixes of “Misunderstood” and “Alicia” from 1998’s Flux, as well as songs from their earlier albums. Hearing early songs like the tenebrous “Ladonna Dissima” from 1992’s Idylls illustrates how versatile and adventurous the duo is. Fans will also appreciate “Amarillo” and “Mediterranea,” previously only available as singles or on compilations. This release reminds me of how much I anxiously await Love Spirals Downwards’ next album. ~ David Slatton
URB Issue No. 75 June 2000 features a review of our retrospective album released by Projekt earlier this year:
Temporal (Projekt) A few years ago, a couple of phenomena exploded out of the UK and into the American consciousness: the post-Portishead wave of trip-hop groups (basically. anything with beats and a female singer), plus the smooth drum & bass most prominently showcased stateside via LTJ Bukem. Both of those models have found a happy hybrid in the recent music of Love Spirals Downwards. But LSD’s existence predates either of those styles. The electronic washes and gentle tug of implied beats carried along their early, ethereal pop. It was a perfect platform for Ryan Lum’s compositional evolution toward the quiet but emphatic breakbeats heard on LSD’s 1998 CD, Flux. Temporal is a collection which looks back through the haze, opening with three tracks that have their genesis in the Flux sessions: two unreleased remixes and an album cut. The music then drifts backward in time, showcasing an increasingly ambient sensibility in tracks that date all the way to 1992. Whether or not these numbers have appeared on the group’s full-lengths, they show consistency in one key respect the crystal-clear voice of Suzanne Perry. It’s all very lovely, a nice sound to chill to after a hard night of pounding kick drums.
A sassy review of Temporal appears in Magnet MagazineIssue 44 for April/May 2000. Projekt send over a press clipping to share. It reads:
As one of the most consistent ethereal bands of the last decade, Love Spirals Downwards has absolutely nowhere to go but … down. This retrospective collection of unreleased and hard-to-find synthetic dreamscapes succeeds on a variety of cosmic levels. With Ryan Lum writing and performing the music and Suzanne Perry providing the words and vocals, LSD is an exotically insular sound machine. While Lum’s grasp of technology isn’t always distinctive and Perry’s warble can feel overly familiar, the pair still generates a dramatic wall of sound that stands proudly alongside the works of Dead Can Dance and the Cocteau Twins. Using slight touches of acoustic guitar, saxophone and percussion on top of their ambient/goth electronics and windswept vocals, Perry and Lum are able to create and sustain a mood that’s nearly alien and wholly atmospheric. Still, if you don’t enjoy working your way through a vast abyss of chiming guitars, swirling synthesizers and haunting female croons, Temporal may not be the ideal purchase. Achromatically packaged and containing moodist masterworks like “Asleep,” “Depression Glass” and “This Endris Night,” this album certainly has the icy sound required to keep things properly evocative. Anyone else feel like having an absinthe?
A new review of Temporal has appeared in Lexicon Magazine #15, and Projekt sent along a clipping to share. I appreciate L’Ange Noir’s Huxley reference in this quirky review, and find myself wondering which record store they work at.
Smooth and relaxing as if on holiday, this new album by Love Spirals Downwards is like dropping “three (grammes) for a dark eternity on the moon” in reference to Huxley’s soma holiday. For the novice this is the definitive starting point for an acquaintance with LSD and most definitely a great way to get to know the Darkwave/Ethereal genre that predominates Sam Rosenthal’s Projekt label.
This new album, Temporal, is a retrospective collection of their best and yet unreleased material. LSD, which formed 1991 in Los Angeles, is an experiment in dark ambiance that can be somewhat akin to early Cocteau Twins. Music masterfully crafted by Ryan Lum and the haunting vocals of Suzanne Perry, this album has laid down a basic framework of this duo’s history. The inclusion of material from past albums, Flux, Ardor, Ever, and Idylls, plus newly released tracks makes this the LSD retrospective. “At both ends and in between, “Temporal” is a sumptuous sound of layered guitars and lilting female vocals, rich in mood and melody.”(— Projekt PR)
I give this album a B for its relaxation factor. I think fans of Cocteau Twins, Sarah McLachlan, or the Jazz /Trip Hop group Portishead, will be able to find appreciation in this album. It has received quite the positive response in the music store where I work. I expect that the beautiful ambiance of this LA duo calms the savage spirit induced by everyday life. I highly recommend turning the lights down low, slipping in the tub, and relaxing to this new title from Projekt Records.
A short but sweet review appears in Side-Line Magazine, Issue 31 April/June 2000. Projekt sent over a press clipping, which reads:
I love anything this band puts out. This collection of works is no exception. They always give the listener a treat with their beautiful music. Their songs are made up of Ryan Lum’s smooth guitar work and Suzanne Perry’s lovely, yet haunting voice. They have also utilized the talents of some special guests over the years including guitar, saxophone, and even vocals. The tracks on “Temporal” are a varied selection of Love Spirals Downwards’ songs ranging from their first release, “Idylls,” in 1992 through to “Flux” in 1998. The best part about this release is the addition of 5 tracks previously unavailable on any of their past albums. A must-have for any Love Spirals Downwards fan; of which I’m sure there are many!
There’s a new review of ‘Temporal‘ in the ‘Inside Borders‘ store magazine for February. Be sure to check out our album in the Borders listening stations this month!
Drifting Toward a Romantic Twilight
Just as Valentine’s Day can bring about all kinds of emotions with regards to romantic love, so can romantic music take on many different forms. Such is the case with the duo known as Love Spirals Downwards. They were one the first acts to exist on the Projekt record label, which has been a specialist in all manner of gothic, electron ambient, and other various ethereal kinds of music for over 10 years now. From their 1992 debut, Idylls, to 1998’s very popular Flux, Love Spirals Downwards has always existed in a moody, enchanting universe all its own, thanks to the music scapes of guitarist/keyboardist Ryan Lum, and the unearthly crooning of vocalist Suzanne Perry. Their earlier releases contain haunting, drifting melodies and layered, melancholy vocals reminiscent of Enya, while later albums incorporate some gentle yet vital dancebeats into the spell. Now, Love Spirals Downwards releases a long-overdue retrospective titled Temporal. It features 13 songs spanning all of their albums and singles, and includes six previously unreleased tracks. It is a comprehensive overview of the duo’s many shades. Whether you’re relaxing in the dark tranquility of post-first-date bliss, or are swimming in the nostalgia of love lost, this album will help keep you warm.
Ethereal Shoegaze and Electronica from Projekt Records
