Ever (1996), the third album by Love Spirals Downwards, is a pivotal work that balances acoustic intimacy, ambient textures, and electronica elements. Described by the All Music Guide as a record where the band “finds a good balance between a more acoustic sound and modern electronica,” the album showcases radiant synth washes, rippling electric guitar, and dance grooves alongside folksier, contemplative moments. Suzanne Perry’s dreamlike, ethereal vocal delivery shines across the album, as she “sings and coos dreamily,” adding a timeless warmth to Ryan Lum’s inventive production techniques.
Similarly, Amazon Editorial reviewer Steve Landau praised Ever as “a languid, atmospheric, but unfussy affair,” blending Perry’s airy vocals with Lum’s echoing electric and calming acoustic guitars. Tracks like “Delta” evoke the dreamy atmospheres of the Cocteau Twins’ Blue Bell Knoll, while the album subtly incorporates denser mixing and light electronic percussion. These elements mark a departure from the more sparse 8-track arrangements of Idylls (1992) and Ardor (1994), offering a glimpse into the band’s growing embrace of electronic innovation.
However, this harmonious blend of styles emerged from a period of uncertainty for the band, as personal ambitions and evolving creative dynamics shaped the album’s very existence.
A Band on the Brink: The Uncertain Future of Love Spirals Downwards
While Ever ultimately emerged as a landmark third album for Love Spirals Downwards, it nearly didn’t happen at all. Suzanne Perry was pursuing a graduate degree in psychology, and her commitment to music was often secondary to her academic pursuits. In a candid 1995 interview with Danse Macabre, recorded just before the release of Ardor, Perry and Lum were asked if the band would continue despite her academic pursuits:
SUZANNE: I don’t think I could just sit and do only music, it wouldn’t be enough.
RYAN: Well, it would be impractical too. I don’t think your singing takes up that much time. But the stuff I work on could be a full time job.
SUZANNE: We’ve been talking about that; Ryan’s been talking about not going to graduate school. We’ve just been spreading ourselves too thin. I’m not ready to just quit and do music now, I wouldn’t quit Psychology.
RYAN: So who knows if there will be a third album? I don’t know.
Their hesitation reflected not just personal ambitions but also the evolving nature of their creative partnership. Perry admitted she didn’t view herself as a full-time musician, preferring to balance music with other interests. She said the creation of a third album would depend on how well Ardor was received, while Lum said he wasn’t concerned if it did well:
“Even if it’s not, I don’t care. I know what I want to start making now, which is good, I guess. After Idylls I had no idea where I wanted to go. I think now I really see where I want to go. Especially after we recorded the last half of the album [Ardor], I kind of see the structure I’m heading towards.”
Perry expressed concern that Lum’s new musical direction would deter their label from releasing a third album, “We don’t know what Projekt is going to think of this new material, cause he hasn’t heard it.” Rhetorically asking what would happen if Projekt owner, Sam Rosenthal, “didn’t like it,” Lum confidently replied, “Well, he’ll still release it.” He went on to say;
“Of course you never know if somebody else is going to like it, you know immediately if you like it. That’s what I do. I write what’s going to please me, not somebody else, not the record label, or some unknown hypothetical band somewhere.”
Even after the album’s completion, doubts lingered. In a 1996 interview with Ned Raggett for Mean Streets, Lum remained noncommittal about the band’s longevity:
“I don’t have this big scheme or plan; I may stop soon, or I may go for another ten years!”
This delicate balance—between personal uncertainty and artistic ambition—fueled the sonic landscape of Ever, as Ryan Lum’s evolving musical influences and growing expertise with technical innovations took center stage, ultimately shaping the uniquely genre-bending sound of the album.
Musical Inspirations and Technical Innovations
Ever finds the duo blending acoustic folk textures with ambient electronic grooves in ways that pushed the boundaries of their earlier sound. This shift was shaped not only by Ryan Lum’s changing musical inspirations but also by his growing expertise with innovative recording techniques and equipment, such as samplers, which deeply influenced his songwriting process.
Reflecting on Ever’s stylistic transformation, Lum noted in Acoustic Guitar (1997):
“One thing I like about our new album is that it’s almost impossible to categorize it with any of the conventional musical categories. There are really folky songs, really electronic ambient dance songs, and then these weird, loopy psychedelic songs. I think it all works together really well.”
The looser, exploratory structure of Ever was partially inspired by contemporaries like Seefeel, Slowdive, and Perfume Tree, whose seamless blending of organic and electronic sounds resonated with Lum’s creative vision. Slowdive, in particular, was an enduring influence; their transition from dream pop to more experimental soundscapes validated Lum’s desire to step beyond the confines of genre.
In a 1996 Daily Freeman interview, Lum described how his songwriting process often began in the studio:
“We’ve got our own home recording studio. We’ve had it for years and have just been growing and expanding it. In fact, the way we write, we have to do it at home. I’ll have some rough sounds or ideas and I’ll record them down on tape or into the sampler, and from there I’ll start getting more ideas. It will build from what I previously recorded.”
The use of a sampler, in particular, opened up new compositional possibilities for Lum, allowing him to sample vocals or guitars to trigger sounds via keyboard in his pitch of choice, creating loops and melodies in real time. This technique can be heard in the looping, almost hypnotic arrangements of tracks like “Sideways Forest,” a song inspired in part by another contemporary of the band. Lum credited his experimentation with alternate tunings to Red House Painters, who’s album Songs For A Blue Guitar he listed in his Top 5 favorite albums of 1996:
“‘Sideways Forest’ is in a weird tuning which I learned from seeing the set list of a Red House Painters show on the Internet. I saw one that looked interesting and I tried it, and that’s how ‘Sideways Forest’ came about.”
This willingness to experiment extended to the live setting as well, as Lum revealed in a 1997 KUCI radio interview:
“I have been thinking about fusion of influences, doing half of our set all acoustic and the other half bringing more electronic stuff out, samplers, and seeing how that goes. More groovy, dancey stuff along with our acoustic folk.”
But Ever’s sonic experimentation was only part of its evocative power. Equally integral to its atmosphere were Suzanne Perry’s lyrics, which wove together themes of time, memory, and impermanence—infusing the album with an emotional depth that resonated beyond its musical innovations.
Lyrical Themes: Nature, Longing, and the Flow of Time
Suzanne Perry’s lyrics on Ever delve into themes of time, memory, emotional longing, and the ephemeral nature of human connections. Her words often evoke powerful imagery of landscapes, water, and emotional loss, blending these elements into the dreamlike atmosphere of the album. Perry has described her approach to lyricism as deeply instinctive, driven more by sound and feeling than traditional storytelling. In a 1997 KUCI radio interview, she explained:
“The lyrics in my songs have nothing to do with writers or poetry or any of that stuff, except for stuff that subconsciously influences me.”
Ryan Lum expanded on this:
“It’s spontaneous prose. She makes words and sounds and uses them to enhance the feeling of the music. Asking her to write a real story or poetry would be almost a foreign concept to her.”
This improvisational, sound-driven method is central to the album’s abstract, dreamlike quality. Yet, within Perry’s lyrical fragments and fluid phrasings, recurring themes of impermanence, transformation, and emotional introspection emerge, tying the vocal-driven songs together in a cohesive and evocative narrative. These overarching lyrical themes are beautifully realized in the album’s individual tracks, each offering a unique facet of Ever‘s emotional and sonic tapestry.
“El Pedregal” – The Sea as Time and Loss
Opening the album, “El Pedregal” blends acoustic guitar with swirling synths, Manchester-inspired drumbeats, and a soaring ebow guitar solo. The title, which translates to “The Rocky Place” in Spanish, evokes a stark, natural setting. Perry’s lyrics use the sea as a metaphor for time and emotional distance:
Still I wait by this cold sea / As time rolling over me / Promised I’d never be / Took this truth away from me
The imagery of the sea, paired with the song’s expansive production, creates a soundscape that feels both timeless and intimate, reflecting the tension between permanence and human impermanence.
“Sideways Forest” – Bridging Simplicity and Experimentation
The sole single from Ever, “Sideways Forest,” was inspired by the band’s live performances, where they experimented with a stripped-down acoustic sound. Projekt described the single as:
“A distillation of their sumptuous sound… featuring simple, flowing guitar melodies and a lone, singular voice, beckoning listeners to embellish the sound in their own minds.”
Perry’s lyrics mirror the song’s delicate arrangement, reflecting impermanence and transformation:
This is the time when water stops / History dies with you / Like rings of trees in sideways forest / Forgetting
The single’s sparse arrangement focuses on Perry’s plaintive vocals, while the accompanying “Quantum Remix” reimagines the song in a loop-based electronica style. This duality highlights the band’s ability to navigate both acoustic simplicity and experimental electronic textures.
“Delta” – Drifting in Emotional Dissolution
Contrasting its bright, Americana-infused arrangement, the river imagery in “Delta” conveys a sense of emotional drift and dissolution:
Stretch, stretching / Far beyond this delta between we / Dive, diving / Deep beneath the surface suddenly
The aquatic metaphors suggest the fading of connection, while Lum’s backing vocals create a dynamic interplay reminiscent of Mojave 3’s male-female harmonies. Lum himself cited Mojave 3’s Ask Me Tomorrow as a key influence on Ever, even performing Mojave 3’s “Mercy” and “Candle Song” in 1996 alongside Perry. These elements ground “Delta” in a broader conversation with contemporary dream pop, reflecting Lum’s admiration for the genre.
“Lieberflüsse” – A Language of Sound and Heritage
Blending German and French, the title “Lieberflüsse” loosely translates to “Love Rivers” or “Beloved Rivers.” Perry’s abstract, multilingual lyrics echo the album’s themes of constant motion and transformation:
Stil nicht, nebella glantze (“Be still, nebula’s shine”)
Flese flese lieberflüsse (“Flow, flow beloved rivers”)
The blending of natural imagery and celestial references, such as rivers and nebulae, enhances the song’s sense of timelessness. As with much of Perry’s work, her words lean toward impressionism, using phonetic invention to evoke mood over concrete meaning. Both the use of language and the unexpected dulcimer solo in “Lieberflüsse” connect the track to the medieval influences of Idylls, as well as adding a cross-cultural dimension to its sound.
“Last Classic” – Memory and Melancholy
“Last Classic” stands as one of the album’s most somber and introspective songs. Its melancholic mood is reinforced by Perry’s lyrics, which reflect on the passage of time and the fading of memory:
These times I can’t forget / These songs, the charms / For now I can forget / It’s then, not now
The song’s minor-key composition and Perry’s wistful delivery capture the pain of letting go while clinging to the echoes of what once was. Lum’s arrangement, understated yet evocative, enhances the song’s introspective tone, making it a haunting centerpiece of the album.
Instrumental Elegance and Vocal Abstraction
Ever is often celebrated for Suzanne Perry’s ethereal vocals and poignant lyrics, but the album’s instrumental tracks and experimental vocal manipulations are equally vital in shaping its ambient and introspective tone. These pieces blur the boundaries between songwriting and sonic exploration, using layered textures, electronic techniques, and evocative melodies to immerse listeners in moods that feel deeply personal yet mysteriously abstract. Ever’s instrumental passages, however, played an equally crucial role in shaping its atmosphere, allowing the music to communicate emotion and mood in ways words could not.
“Above the Lone” – Abstraction and Mystery
Closing the album, “Above the Lone” is one of Ever’s most dramatic pieces, blending swirling synths, a driving bassline, and soaring ebow guitar leads. Its enigmatic vocal roundelay—phrases like “into above the lone” layered with “hold onto” and “it just slips away underground”—creates a hypnotic effect, even as much of the meaning remains elusive.
The rising and falling syllables, paired with the track’s ebbing rhythm, mirror the flow of waves, reinforcing the album’s recurring theme of impermanence and natural cycles. Its evocative abstraction invites listeners to interpret the song as a reflection on mystery, solitude, and the unseen forces that shape our lives, perfectly encapsulating Ever’s ability to balance emotion with ambiguity.
“Madras” and “Promises” – Electronic Exploration
The album’s electronic heart shines through in tracks like “Madras” and “Promises,” where Lum delves deeper into loop-based production and vocal sampling.
- “Madras” builds on swirling synthesizers and a repeating loop of a sample of Perry’s vocals, combined with an ethereal vocal ad lib. The track’s atmospheric manipulation shows clear influence from Seefeel, combining melody and abstraction into a textured, immersive soundscape. In 2006, “Madras” was highlighted in the iTunes Essentials: Shoegaze and Beyond playlist, placing it alongside genre-defining tracks by Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, and Lush.
- Meanwhile, “Promises” experiments with a forward and backward loop of the titular word, repurposed from Depression Glass recordings, specifically her intonation of “Promises of love and light.” Layered over a simple acoustic guitar melody and chiming keyboards, the interplay of repetition and delay creates a hypnotic, dreamlike atmosphere reminiscent of Slowdive’s “Miranda”, blending minimalism and melodic depth.
The album also delves into a purely instrumental realm with several tracks that further emphasize its ambient and introspective character.
Instrumental Journeys: From Dawn’s Mist to Cosmic Serenity
Nearly half of Ever consists of instrumental tracks, which emphasize the album’s ambient and introspective character. These pieces act as meditative interludes, enriching the album’s emotional resonance and further exploring its themes of transience, natural beauty, and spiritual reflection.
Bikini Magazine aptly described these tracks:
“Even the half dozen instrumentals not graced by Perry’s remarkable voice deliver delicate foreboding allure, like mist at dawn’s break. This proves itself to be rather affecting mood music.”
- “Ipomoea” is the album’s most stripped-down offering, featuring only acoustic guitar. Named after a plant whose seeds are said to have psychoactive properties akin to LSD, the track evokes pastoral stillness and a sense of quiet reflection. Its connection to nature ties it thematically to the organic imagery found throughout the album.
- “Cay at Dawn” conjures a serene, otherworldly atmosphere. The title’s reference to a small, low-lying island surrounded by water reinforces the album’s recurring focus on isolation and transformation, while its shimmering melodies capture the delicate transition from night to day.
- “Ananda” takes its title from the Sanskrit word for “bliss” or “divine joy,” evoking a sense of spiritual transcendence. The track’s layered instrumentation and cosmic ambiance suggest a journey beyond the physical, into realms of acceptance and peace, aligning with the album’s contemplative tone.
As Ever unfolds, its instrumentals and abstractions serve as emotional waypoints—moments of introspection that deepen the album’s overarching themes. These instrumental pieces act as meditative interludes, enriching the album’s emotional resonance and further exploring its themes of transience and natural beauty. This innovative and emotionally resonant approach was met with considerable praise upon the album’s release.
Critical Reception and Legacy
Upon release, Ever was widely praised for its ethereal beauty and genre-blending approach:
- College Music Journal — ”An achingly beautiful, enchanting maelstrom of emotion that fuses honey-dripped vocals, delicate guitars and electronic backdrops of sedate, swirling synthesizers, effectively capturing what Halstead and Goswell missed in their transition.”
- The Onion AV Club — “Suzanne Perry has one of those high, hypnotic voices that swoop and soar dramatically, and it’s awfully pretty to listen to. Ever [is] a nice, airy surprise, recalling many of the best things about a lot of dead-and-gone bands.“
- Bikini Magazine — “Sailing on a gossamer sheen, swaying like a leaf lightly transversing the airwaves, Love Spirals Downwards unleashes achingly sweet melodies . . . tucked in a bed of soft ambient atmospherics and bittersweet acoustic strumming.”
- Stanford Daily — “It’s raining on Earth again, and the ever-ethereal Projekt Records has recently released Love Spirals Downwards’ new album, “Ever,” so that there now should exist a soundtrack to match the falling of water and the clouding of once-clear skies.“
Compilation Appearances:
- Beneath the Icy Floe Vol. 4 Projekt Records (1996)
- Beneath the Icy Floe Vol. 5 Projekt Records (1997)
- Splashed With Many a Speck Dewdrops Records (1997)
- Life is Too Short for Boring Music Vol. 11 EFA (1997)
- Indie Gestion: AP 12 Alternative Press (1997)
Despite the positive reception, and promotional push via compilation CDs, Ever encountered some obstacles in reaching its full audience due to shifts in its distribution network.
Unexpected Distribution Challenges
Upon its release in September 1996, Ever faced some hurdles in reaching its audience due to changes in Projekt Records’ distribution network. While the CD was on track for its release date, Ryan Lum noted on the band’s official website in September 1996 that it might not appear in stores until October. While the album was officially released domestically by October, with a European release anticipated shortly after, fans both at home and abroad encountered difficulties locating it in stores. This prompted the band to advise ordering directly from Projekt. The root of these distribution challenges lay in Projekt Records’ decision to switch distributors in key regions. Fortunately, by July 1997, Projekt had established new distribution partnerships with EFA in Germany and ADA, a subsidiary of Warner, in the United States. This new network ensured that Love Spirals Downwards’ CDs once again became readily accessible in major retail outlets such as Tower and Borders.
In spite of these initial hurdles, Love Spirals Downwards supported Ever through several key live performances before and after release, further exploring its sonic landscape in a live setting.
Bringing Ever to the Stage: LSD Live 1996-1997
Following their belated stage debut in support of Ardor, Love Spirals Downwards continued performing selectively during the Ever era, refining their live approach while gradually incorporating electronic elements. Their 1996 appearances built upon their initial foray into the stage, culminating in a landmark performance at the innagural 1996 Projekt Festival. Months ahead of Ever’s October release, they debuted “Lieberflüsse” and “Above the Lone”, offering audiences an early glimpse of the album’s evolving sound. These tracks would also be performed during an intimate live session at KUCI 88.9 in November 1996, and featured in their Echoes Living Room Concert broadcast December 13, 1996, further expanding their reach into the ambient and ethereal music scenes.
After nearly a year’s break, the band returned to the stage in June 1997 for a small local show at Dizzy Debby’s in Los Angeles with Claire Voyant and Mine, two fellow ethereal acts. Outburn Magazine pointed out that the venue “appeared to be a Chinese restaurant by day, seemed to be an odd location for a night of ethereal splendor but Love Spirals Downwards explained that they live in the apartments just behind the venue,” noting, “They gave a splendid performance to a packed house.“
The most significant live appearances of the Ever era came during Projekt Festival 1997, where the band took their boldest steps yet into a more electronic direction.
ProjektFest 1997: An Experiment in Sound
Held at The Vic Theatre in Chicago on August 1-2, 1997, ProjektFest ’97 saw Love Spirals Downwards further embrace electronic elements on stage. Their set blended both acoustic and electronica songs, debuting “Sideways Forest” (Quantum Remix) from the Sideways Forest single and “By Your Side” and “Sound of Waves” from their upcoming album Flux. An Ephemera review noted the contrast between their established acoustic style and the newer electronic sound:
“Love Spirals Downwards usually plays a mellower type of acoustic rock, most easily compared to the Cranes. Tonight, they would debut a new style with more of an electronic feel. The electronic songs brought them up to comparisons with Portishead or Lamb and still sounded a bit rough around the edges, but eventually those gave way to the acoustic guitar style most are used to hearing from these two.“
Despite the experimentation, the show remained intimate and at times unpredictable. A Morbid Outlook review noted Suzanne Perry’s nervous stage presence, her humorous attempts to engage the crowd—including a song called “The Pickle Man”—and her frustration with audience chatter, which Ryan Lum later addressed in a blog post, lamenting the “rude loud motherfuckers” who disrupted the more delicate performances.
After an in-store performance at Borders in Chicago (August 2, 1997) and a follow-up Projekt Festival appearance in Mexico City (August 16, 1997, Cine Bella Época) with Lycia and Arcanta, the band scaled back their live presence. However, their Ever-era performances demonstrated a willingness to experiment with their live sound, offering fans a unique glimpse into their evolving artistic vision—one that balanced the delicate intimacy of their acoustic roots with the hypnotic potential of electronic soundscapes.
This balance was further documented in a expanded reissue of the band’s 1996 single, “Sideways Forest,” released digitally in 2017.
Distillation of Sound: Sideways Forest EP
Unlike most mainstream major label acts, Love Spirals Downwards didn’t release singles to promote their first two albums. With Ever, Projekt experimented by releasing the duo’s first ever maxi-CD single, in August 1996. The release hinted at the future album’s mix of acoustic and electronic elements, with the single promotion tying the transformation into the band’s recent foray into live performance:
“Triggered by the group’s experiences playing live with a more stripped down, acoustic set, on “Sideways Forest” we hear the intrinsic beauty of simple, flowing guitar melody and a lone, singular voice, beckoning listening listeners to embellish the sound in their own minds. The “Quantum Remix” deconstructs these acoustic elements and rebuilds from the song’s foundation, adding sampled and electronic patterns, morphing them into a euphoric journey into trip-ambience. The disc concludes with the instrumental “Amarillo,” echoing themes hinted at on “Sideways Forest,” while uniting the group’s acoustic elements and flowing, open atmospherics.”
Lum noted in a post on the band’s website:
“The label tells me that the trip-hoppy “Quantum Remix” of “Sideways Forest” (which is only on the CD-single) has been getting a bit more radio and club play than normal.”
By 2017, the CD single had long been out of print, and the trip hop inspired Quantum Remix of “Sideways Forest” had never been made available digitally, meaning that many modern listeners had never heard it. Lum opted to reissue the single digitally on his Chillcuts label, adding two bonus tracks unearthed from his archives. While “Sideways Forest (Acoustic Mix)” gives a stripped-down, almost early demo sounding version of the song, the live version of the “Quantum Remix” –recorded at ProjektFest Chicago in 1997– captures the duo attempting to bring the newly emerging electronica sound to the stage.
This look into the band’s vaults was well received by fans, inspiring Lum to dig deeper into his previously unreleased work from the Ever recording period for an even bigger reissue project.
Ever’s Revival: The 2020 Expanded Reissue
Though Ever initially faced distribution setbacks, time has only solidified its reputation as a high point in Love Spirals Downwards’ discography. Fans have long regarded it as the band’s most cohesive and mature work, with its “timeless, expansive quality” (Catherine P) and “gorgeous slice of dreamy acoustic pop” (Jack Baker).
In 2020, Ryan Lum revisited Ever for an expanded reissue on his Chillcuts label. He meticulously remastered each track from the original master DAT tapes, enhancing the album’s clarity, depth, and richness while staying true to its original essence. “This is exactly how I wish ‘Ever’ could have been mastered in 1996,” Lum reflected. The reissue also unearthed eight additional tracks from the same recording sessions—lost pieces that, in retrospect, felt like they always belonged. Fans embraced this expanded edition wholeheartedly, with one listener remarking, “How do you make ‘Ever’ even better? Add more tracks from the time it was recorded!” (coldnecklace).
“One of my first introductions to Love Spirals Downwards in the mid-nineties, “Ever” stands as a classic of the era, a shimmering and pulsing juxtaposition of heavenly Darkwave vocals and blissful percussive elements.
All these years later it remains perfect, wonderful, and exceptional, and this expanded reissue provides a great opportunity to rediscover it’s charms.
A truly essential release…” — RikM, Mara’s Torment
With the remastered edition now widely available, Ever continues to captivate listeners old and new, proving that some albums are destined to endure.
Bridging Worlds: The Genre-Defying Beauty of Ever
Ever stands as a defining moment in Love Spirals Downwards’ evolution, showcasing their ability to blend acoustic folk, ethereal dream pop, and electronic exploration into a cohesive yet genre-defying work. Critics and fans alike praised Ever for its ability to push sonic boundaries while maintaining the band’s signature dreamlike charm. With tracks like the swirling, loop-driven “Madras,” the folky dream pop duet of “Delta,” and the haunting, dynamic closer “Above the Lone,” the album bridged the organic and the experimental, paving the way for the fully electronic turn of Flux. Decades later, Ever remains a testament to the power of creative reinvention, its lush soundscapes and evocative themes continuing to resonate with listeners across genres and generations.