Idylls (1992), the debut album by Love Spirals Downwards, remains one of the definitive works of ethereal wave, blending lush instrumentation, poetic abstraction, and influences spanning medieval poetry, Indian classical music, 60s psychedelic folk rock, and the foundational sounds of the emerging ethereal music scene. Their soundscapes are characterized by swirling, swaying layers of atmospheric music and angelic vocals, creating a daydreaming quality. Released on CD and cassette by Projekt Records in the U.S. and on CD by Hyperium Records in Germany, the album introduced the duo of Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry, whose creative synergy produced music described by Industrial Nation as “like a cloud-ride to a heaven via angelic voices and delicate music.”
The album’s signature sound—a combination of Lum’s intricate acoustic and electric guitar work and Perry’s mesmerizing, glossolalia-style vocals—evokes a timeless and otherworldly atmosphere. Comparisons to Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance are inevitable, but Idylls carved its own unique space within the ethereal music scene, described by Projekt Records as “the unconscious mind of ethereal music.” Music From The Empty Quarter praised its dreamlike quality, calling it “thirteen angelic tracks tripping through peaceful illusions and fantasies, only briefly accessible in dream-soaked memories.”
“Forgo,” the duo’s first collaboration, exemplifies their fusion of tribal percussion, Indian classical influences, and abstract vocal improvisation, setting the stage for the sonic explorations of Idylls.
A Tapestry of Influences: Ethereal, Psychedelic, and Beyond
Love Spirals Downwards emerged during a pivotal moment for ethereal and dream-pop music, when acts like Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, and Black Tape for a Blue Girl were defining the genre with their explorations of sound, texture, and emotion. Lum’s approach to composition was deeply informed by this movement but also drew on a wide range of influences. As he explained in a 1993 interview:
“I believe that all the different types of music that I have listened to throughout the years—such as ethereal, ambient, East Indian classical, psychedelic ’60s, and tribal percussive—have been blended into our eclectic sound.”
This meditative, transportive quality became a hallmark of Idylls. Lum’s intricate guitar textures, inspired by the Cocteau Twins’ shimmering soundscapes and the psychedelia of 60s bands like Jefferson Airplane and Popol Vuh, serve as the foundation for the album’s otherworldly atmosphere. Altered Mind lauded this combination of artistry, stating:
“The perfect pairing of Suzanne Perry’s ethereal siren vocal and Ryan Lum’s intricately crafted instrumentation. The sound is soothing, uplifting, and energizing all at once, and is marked by both delicacy and force.”
This meditative, transportive quality became a hallmark of Idylls. Lum’s musical tastes were particularly shaped during the mid-1980s, a period he identified as his favorite in a 1993 Fond Affexxions interview:
“I remember discovering Cocteau Twins, when Love’s Easy Tears came out. I guess in like ’86 or ’87. and then going back and hearing Victorialand. 4AD was in its “Golden Age” and everything was so magnificent. I started finding all the Harold Budd, Brian Eno stuff, Dead Can Dance, Cocteaus… Before that I liked some of The Cure stuff; their first three or four albums.”
While Perry’s vocal style is often compared to Elizabeth Fraser or Lisa Gerrard, her influences extended beyond the realm of ethereal wave. In the early 90s, Ryan Lum introduced her to Indian classical music, taking her to live concerts at Occidental College, where she absorbed the vocal techniques and phrasing of Indian singers. Lum recalled in a 1992 Altered Mind interview:
“We go to see the Indian concerts at Occidental College. We always try to look for really percussive bands, for lack of a better term, or ones that have really strange sounding string instruments, or ones that have nice vocals for her to listen to.”
This exposure may have shaped her use of improvisational syllables and phonetic abstraction, particularly in tracks like “Dead Language.” In a 1993 Fond Affexxions interview, Perry acknowledged incorporating “some Indian too, make-believe Indian” into her lyrics—suggesting that she absorbed and reinterpreted these influences in her own way.
Suzanne Perry: Vocal Instrumentalist and Lyrical Philosophy
Unlike many vocalists, Suzanne Perry never saw her voice as a tool for storytelling. Instead, she approached singing as an instrumental act, shaping sound through instinct, mood, and melody rather than traditional lyricism.
This unconventional method became central to Love Spirals Downwards’ creative process. While Ryan Lum carefully layered intricate guitar textures inspired by Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, classical Indian music, and 60s psychedelia, Perry responded with free-flowing, often improvised vocal lines, transforming each song into a deeply intuitive expression of sound.
Ryan Lum explained their songwriting dynamic in a 1995 The Ninth Wave interview, describing how Perry’s vocal melodies would emerge organically from near-completed instrumentals:
“I do the music first and when it’s almost done, Suzanne will listen to it, then we both make up the vocal parts. We don’t rehearse or anything, I just start laying down the tracks.”
Perry echoed this in a 1992 Altered Mind interview, stating:
“He’ll usually do the whole music and play it for me, and I’ll come up with ideas — just notes and things — either on my own or with him.”
She described her spontaneous approach in a 1995 Carpe Noctem interview:
“I just start humming some catchy notes into the microphone.”
However, she acknowledged that bringing a song to completion required discipline. In a 1995 The Ninth Wave interview, she admitted:
“We really have to focus and push to get from that first stage to the finished song. It’s really crucial that I do it in a concentrated couple of days to keep the mood. If I’m really not in the mood to do vocals, I’ll at least go in the studio and give it a try. Then at least I can say I had no ideas and wasn’t just lazy.”
While Perry was deeply involved in shaping vocal melodies, she was far less comfortable writing traditional lyrics. In a 1993 Fond Affexxions interview, she admitted:
“I don’t see myself as a writer or a poet, and usually I’m very insecure about the things that I write.”
This insecurity contributed to her abstract, non-literal lyrical style, a point she reinforced in a 1994 Fond Affexxions interview:
“I think a lot of the lyrics are pretty meaningless. At least, in a direct sense. I’m using words, but I’m still not really conveying any definite meaning.”
Her reluctance to write explicitly personal lyrics appears to stem from a deep discomfort with artistic self-exposure. In a 1995 Muse interview, she made a striking admission:
“It’s a lot harder for me to write words that are personal than to write nonsense lyrics because I’m getting into things that I reveal about myself. I don’t know how comfortable I feel with expressing myself in that way or putting that into music.”
Ryan Lum fully supported this approach, emphasizing in the same interview that they deliberately rejected the idea that lyrics needed to be personal:
“I think a lot of people come to singing with the assumption that bearing their soul is something that they need to do in their lyric writing. What we do is break that assumption.”
This discomfort extended beyond her lyrics and into the way she viewed music in her life. In a 1997 KUCI interview, she reflected:
“I compartmentalize my music. It’s something I do as a hobby and a side thing, and I don’t really mix it with my life. Even my everyday emotions I don’t think I mix with it. But every so often I think it seeps in. It’s interesting because it truthfully makes me uncomfortable in some ways.”
While some listeners might assume that her vocals are intentionally obscured by effects, Lum clarified in a 1993 Fond Affexxions interview:
“There’s reverb on her voice, but not to where it obscures the clarity of what she’s saying. I don’t drown her in a huge tank of reverb.”
Instead, Perry’s ethereal delivery and lack of enunciation are a conscious choice, as she explained in a 1996 Requiem interview:
“Even if I have lyrics, I don’t stress pronunciation at all. In vocal training, they stress that—to speak clearly, to sound out every word, and make sure you end each word you’re singing. I don’t like that.”
This preference for vocal abstraction over lyrical clarity ties into her broader artistic philosophy. In the same 1996 Requiem interview, she explained:
“I like doing things that don’t have to be understood—something that doesn’t have to have an attachment to language. I think it’s nice to use a universal language that doesn’t get bogged down in meanings.”
Despite her insistence that her lyrics were not consciously shaped by poetic or literary influences, their themes often suggest a subconscious depth. In a 1997 KUCI interview, she distanced herself from conventional lyric-writing:
“The lyrics in my songs have nothing to do with writers or poetry or stuff like that, except for stuff that subconsciously influences me.”
This balance between vocal abstraction and emotional intuition defined Perry’s approach across Idylls. Rather than writing lyrics beforehand, she would immerse herself in Lum’s music and allow melodies to emerge organically.
It was this spontaneous method that first took form on the duo’s earliest composition, “Forgo”—the song that would ultimately define their creative chemistry.
“Forgo”: The Genesis of an Ethereal Sound
“Forgo,” the first song ever created by Ryan Lum and Suzanne Perry, stands as the genesis of Love Spirals Downwards’ signature ethereal sound. Written during an impromptu session, the track set the tone for the band’s improvisational and emotive approach to songwriting. Perry recalled the song’s origins in a 1995 interview with Ink Spots Magazine:
“The first song we ever made was ‘Forgo.’ I had never written a song before. I just got in there and started humming in the microphone, and that’s how it happened. We listened to it and thought, ‘Hey, that’s not too bad!’”
Lum added in Tear Down the Sky (1993):
“I guess you just started singing one night. We were jamming something that became the song ‘Forgo,’ and it sounded cool. So we carried it out and found out that we worked together nicely.”
The track’s percussive, tribal rhythm—featuring a vintage drum machine, rhythmic bass lines, droning synths, and chiming guitar patterns—established the core elements of the duo’s sonic identity. Perry’s layered glossolalia-style vocals, evoking the melodic improvisation of Indian classical singers, brought an emotional immediacy that mirrored the themes of motion and longing found throughout Idylls.
“Forgo” became a cornerstone of the band’s early success, appearing on the influential compilation From Across This Gray Land No. 3, released on CD by Projekt and Hyperium in 1992 and on cassette by Projekt in 1993. This exposure played a key role in securing their signing with Projekt, setting the stage for their debut album. Its tribal drum machine rhythms combined with Perry’s abstract vocal approach, foreshadowed Idylls’ blending of medieval poetry, natural imagery, and introspective soundscapes.
Poetic Resonances and Abstract Soundscapes
The opening track, “Illusory Me,” immediately immerses the listener in the album’s mystical and reflective tone with lyrics that combine vivid natural imagery with surreal abstraction. The enigmatic opening line, “Fraoch shalais,” might be interpreted from Scots Gaelic as “salt heather,” evokes resilience and beauty amidst adversity. Similarly, the phrase “Carnelian autumn” creates a striking visual of fiery red-orange hues, symbolizing both vitality and impermanence. Lum’s cryptic guitar melodies and Perry’s ethereal vocal layering create a soundscape that feels both timeless and deeply personal.
In “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” Perry transforms invented sounds and rhythmic patterns into lyrical elements, singing lines like “Ki ya yo, lay yay yo” and “Leshre yay she yay.” These abstract, mantra-like lyrics allow the voice to transcend language, functioning as an instrument of pure emotion.
Mute Magazine captured the dreamlike allure of the album’s sound, writing in 1992:
“It all flows together like a dream of some long, sun-drenched afternoon with a cool breeze now and then wafting through. It makes one think of gathering flowers or slipping into the shadows.”
Medieval and Poetic Resonances
The medieval influence on Idylls is particularly striking in tracks like ‘And the Wood Comes Into Leaf,’ ‘This Endris Night,’ and ‘Dead Language.’ While Perry downplayed the intentionality of her lyric-writing, her choices often evoke the tone and cadence of Middle English verse. Through intuition and improvisation, she created lyrics that echo the spiritual and existential themes of medieval poetry.
“And the Wood Comes Into Leaf” stands as one of the album’s most profound meditations on nature, time, and mortality. Drawing inspiration from Middle English poetry, the song reflects the ubi sunt tradition of mourning those who have passed, seen in the repeated refrain: “Were beeth they biforen us weren?” (“Where are they who came before us?”). This question grounds the song in a universal reflection on impermanence and loss. Paired with pastoral imagery—“Goeth sun under, groweth sed bloweth” (“The sun sets, the seed grows, the wind blows”)—the lyrics juxtapose life’s transience with nature’s perpetual renewal.
The line “The wood comes into leaf” acts as both a symbol of seasonal rebirth and a bittersweet reminder of absence, echoing medieval poetic meditations where nature mirrors the cycles of human life. Perry’s haunting vocal delivery alternates between clarity and abstraction, transforming lines like “Ychabbe y-yerned yore” (“I have yearned for so long”) into a mantra-like expression of longing. Lum’s lush production reinforces these themes, blending layered harmonies and intricate guitar patterns with reverb and delay, creating a soundscape that feels both ancient and otherworldly.
“This Endris Night” reinterprets an anonymous medieval carol, infusing its devotional themes with a mystical, dreamlike quality. The lyrics—“Beheld a sight that’s in the sky / For angels bright done to me light”—mirror the carol’s original narrative of divine revelation, while Perry’s ethereal delivery and the hypnotic refrain of “Fa la la la, la la la” elevate the song into a spiritual invocation. The phrase “I pray Thee grant my wish, this endris night I may not sleep” reflects a yearning for divine connection and a glimpse of transcendent beauty. Lum’s arrangement blends minimal instrumentation with Perry’s layered vocal textures, balancing reverence and intimacy in a way that bridges the sacred and the human.
“Dead Language” introduces a more experimental dimension, using invented phonetics and mythological references to evoke an atmosphere of mysticism and abstraction. Glossolalic phrases like “Kala yey rana” (“Time is the battlefield”) and “Va vu oo na” (“O divine essence!”) highlight themes of spiritual transcendence and the cyclical nature of time, drawing parallels with the symbolic imagery of “And the Wood Comes Into Leaf.” The inclusion of Hindu deities such as Vishnu and Varuna adds a transcultural layer, situating the song within a universal spiritual framework. Perry’s glossolalia transforms her voice into an emotive instrument, amplifying the song’s meditative and sacred qualities.
Connection to Idylls and Broader Themes
Together, these three tracks exemplify the interplay between medieval traditions, spiritual longing, and abstract vocal experimentation that defines Idylls.
- Nature as Metaphor: “And the Wood Comes Into Leaf” reflects the cyclical rhythms of nature, symbolizing renewal and transience, while “This Endris Night” transforms celestial imagery into a devotional meditation.
- Spiritual Longing: All three tracks channel a yearning for divine connection and transcendence, whether through the liturgical echoes of “This Endris Night” or the abstract invocations of “Dead Language.”
- Timeless Universality: While inspired by medieval motifs, these songs feel strikingly modern. The metaphor of time’s cycles and spiritual yearning resonates across centuries, bridging the gap between historical and contemporary spirituality.
Lum’s intricate production—melding acoustic and electronic textures—ensures that these timeless themes are matched by an equally timeless sound, creating an immersive journey into the sacred, the natural, and the transcendent.
Nature and the Cosmos
Themes of nature and cosmic imagery are central to Idylls, as evidenced in songs like “Drops, Rain, and Sea” and “Stir About the Stars.” Perry’s vocal delivery on “Drops, Rain, and Sea” flows in rhythm with life’s cyclical patterns, while Lum’s instrumentation draws from the dreamy textures of Cocteau Twins’ Victorialand. Meanwhile, “Stir About the Stars” shifts focus to the vastness of the cosmos, situating human imagination within an infinite universe. Lum described its lyrics in 1996 as “nonsense poetry,” but their abstract nature invites listeners to explore their own interpretations.
“It’s not supposed to mean anything… but I liked how I could interpret it in many different ways, all of which were interesting.”
Perry’s otherworldly vocal delivery, paired with Lum’s atmospheric instrumentation, transforms the track into a meditation on imagination, wonder, and the infinite cosmos. The dreamlike imagery—“Make castles when you want to / And fill them with sights”—reflects the album’s overarching themes of creation, wonder, and transcendence.
Instrumental Meditations
The album’s two instrumental tracks, “Eudaimonia” (who’s title refers to a state of human flourishing and contentment) and “Waiting for Sunrise,” showcase Lum’s ability to create deeply evocative soundscapes through subtle yet intriguing guitar work. Stripping away the vocal layers that define much of the album, these tracks emphasize Lum’s mastery of ethereal arrangements, offering moments of meditative introspection within Idylls’ broader ethereal framework. In a 2009 review, Opus Zine noted:
“Both ‘Eudaimonia’ and ‘Waiting for Sunrise’ are explorations in guitar ambience, especially the latter, which eschews any sort of percussion or any similar ‘earthly’ element for a golden sound that’s truly fitting given its title.”
These instrumentals — plus the near-instrumental, “Noumena of Spirit” — not only underscore Lum’s technical skill but also enhance the album’s narrative by offering moments of quiet reverie amidst its rich vocal and lyrical explorations. Together, they serve as anchors of contemplative stillness, further defining Idylls as an immersive and introspective journey.
Critical Reception and Legacy
The critical reception for Idylls spanned a range of publications, from prominent alternative music magazines to more specialized journals within the ethereal, gothic, and independent music scenes. Upon its release, Idylls garnered widespread critical acclaim for its ethereal beauty, unique sound, and captivating atmosphere. Here’s a snapshot of what critics had to say:
Alternative Press: “Love Spirals Downwards are one of a growing number of acts that defy the loudness and harshness that have defined recent contemporary music… Their sound is a “70/30 Cocteau/Dead Can Dance weave“… Perry’s voice is a “very powerful presence, merging strength with delicacy much like Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerrard.”
Ray Gun Magazine: “Idylls swims on waves of guitar and airy, otherworldly vocals.”
Mute Magazine: “It all flows together like a dream of some long, sun-drenched afternoon with a cool breeze now and then wafting through.”
Industrial Nation: “Like a cloud-ride to a heaven via angelic voices and delicate music.” Also noted the album’s “soft, barely distinguishable lyrics and daydreaming melodies” and highlighted “Dead Language” and “Stir About the Stars” as “promising tracks.”
B-SIDE MAGAZINE: “Swirling, swaying, layers of atmospheric music and female vocals… Idylls is almost ambient at times, wandering about in your head like an echo of the sad past.”
Industrial Gear: “Love Spirals Downwards makes beautifully ethereal music… With the angelic vocals of Suzanne Perry perfectly complementing the dreamy, low key music… The middle eastern feel of the guitars and percussion keeps these songs interesting.”
Dusk Memories: “55 minutes of magical, bewitching, mind-expanding music… Ryan intertwines acoustic and electric guitar spirals that run after each other and Suzanne weaves her seductive vocal embroideries on this hypnotic carpet of sounds.”
Music From The Empty Quarter: “Sumptuous acoustics, beautiful female voice, and sweet harmony rising to glorious heights.”
Permission Magazine: “Idylls is a brilliant album.”
The critical acclaim Idylls received upon its release was further amplified by the inclusion of its tracks on various influential compilations, which helped introduce Love Spirals Downwards to a wider audience within the ethereal and dream-pop scene.
Expanding Reach: Compilation Placements
During its promotional cycle, songs from Idylls were featured on several influential compilations, which helped expand the band’s audience and cement their place in the ethereal and dream-pop scene. Projekt and Hyperium featured cuts from the album on a number of influential compilation, expanding the duo’s audience and establishing their reputation within the ethereal music scene. Highlights include:
- Hyperium Promo-Sampler (Hyperium, 1992) “Scatter January”
- From Hypnotic to Hypersonic (Hyperium, 1992) “Noumena”
- Heavenly Voices Part 1 (Hyperium, 1993) “Love’s Labour’s Lost (Remix)”
- Beneath the Icy Floe Vol. 2 (Projekt, 1994) “Ladonna Dissima”
- Beneath the Icy Floe – Projekt Record’s Sampler (Hyperium, 1995) “This Endris Night”
These early appearances on samplers and compilations from Projekt and Hyperium Records helped establish Idylls as a cornerstone of the ethereal wave genre, drawing in fans of dream-pop, ambient, and gothic music alike.
Years after its release, Idylls continued to receive recognition, with tracks featured on retrospective compilations that underscored the album’s lasting influence. Highlights include:
- Darkwave: Music of the Shadows v2 (K-Tel, 2000) “Forgo”
- Within This Infinite Ocean (Projekt/Borders, 2001) “This Endris Night”
- Projekt: The New Face of Goth (Projekt Records/Hot Topic, 2003) “This Endris Night”
- Cherry Stars Collide: Dream Pop, Shoegaze & Ethereal Rock 1986–1995 (Cherry Red, 2023) “Stir About the Stars”
These later inclusions demonstrate the album’s enduring appeal and its role in shaping the ethereal wave genre. Decades later, Idylls remains a landmark release, described by Pop Matters in 2008 as:
“More akin to the lighter side of such darkwave stalwarts as Cocteau Twins, Love Is Colder than Death, and Projekt labelmate Black Tape for a Blue Girl.”
In 2007, Projekt Records celebrated the album’s enduring influence by releasing an expanded edition of Idylls, remastered by Ryan Lum to enhance its sonic clarity and further highlight its lasting legacy.
Beyond the well-documented story of Idylls, the tale of the song “Kykeon” offers a unique glimpse into the band’s early dynamics and the intriguing path of a track that was both an early creation and a later revisited gem.
Kykeon: From Early Experiments to Psychedelic Associations
“Kykeon” holds a unique place in Love Spirals Downwards’ history, —not only because of its origins before Suzanne Perry officially joined the band, but also because of the intrigue surrounding its inclusion on a psychedelic-themed compilation.
Originally, Ryan Lum recorded the song with Suzanne’s sister, Kristen. As Suzanne recounted in a 1992 Altered Mind interview:
“I was in London at the time going to school, and he was sending me tapes with my sister on it. I thought, ‘I can sing that. In fact, I can sing that better!’”
When she returned, she recorded her own version, preserving Kristen’s ending vocal but reworking the main melody and lyrics. This moment marked a key turning point in Love Spirals Downwards’ early evolution.
Curiously, “Kykeon” was not included on their debut album, Idylls. Instead, it first appeared in 1993 on two separate releases: the 50 Years of Sunshine compilation from Silent Records and a limited-edition 8” clear flexi-disc included with issue #14 of Altered Mind zine. Altered Mind described it as:
“A remix of a rare song…To date, the band’s recorded output comprises the album, the two Gray Land 3 tracks, and a song on the Silent Records compilation 50 Years of Sunshine.”
The clear 8” flexi-disc sound sheet was included free with issue #14 of the zine The Altered Mind in August 1993. This flexi-disc, limited to just 1000 copies, also featured a previously unreleased track by HALO, making it a sought-after collectible for fans of the ethereal and Projekt Records scene.
In a 1993 Fond Affexxions interview, Lum described the version of “Kykeon” included on 50 Years Of Sunshine and the flexi-disc as:
“One of our new songs, a first glimpse of what we sounded like after Idylls… It will be remixed for our new album.”
When Ardor was released, the version of “Kykeon” included was indeed a remix—though Lum later admitted in Fond Affexxions (1994):
“It’s not the same version, but it’s roughly the same thing.”
The changes were subtle but significant: more heavily delayed guitar strums, more clearly defined vocal harmonies, and a shift in the song’s atmospheric depth. These adjustments aligned with Ardor‘s more polished and intentional production style.
“Kykeon,” LSD, and the Band Name Controversy
The inclusion of “Kykeon” on 50 Years of Sunshine stirred curiosity about Love Spirals Downwards’ name. The compilation, released by Silent Records, commemorated the 50th anniversary of LSD’s discovery by Albert Hofmann. Given that their name’s initials—L.S.D.—mirrored the abbreviation for the psychedelic drug, some assumed an intentional connection.
In a 1993 Tear Down the Sky interview, Lum was asked about this apparent contradiction:
TDTS: “In interviews you clearly make a point that Love Spirals Downwards is not short for LSD, but you put a song on the Fifty Years of Sunshine comp; a compilation celebrating the fiftieth year of the invention of the drug LSD.”
Ryan Lum: “It seems like it could be a contradiction, but it’s not. Our band name, in a way, reflects our way of making lyrics and our whole attitude towards music. What sounds best is what works.”
Suzanne added, somewhat playfully:
“Supposedly it’s not even grammatically correct to say Love Spirals Downwards.”
Lum clarified their intent,
“There’s no connection to get. We are not saying ‘take acid’ or ‘don’t take acid.’ Do as you choose.”
When asked in Tear Down the Sky how they became involved with the compilation, Lum explained:
“Projekt distributes Silent, and they work back and forth. I guess they thought our name fit with it—as a joke.”
Despite their repeated denials of any intentional association with LSD, the name’s ambiguity did generate exposure for the band. Lum acknowledged in a 1993 AS IF magazine interview:
“That’s kind of helped us, in a way. For instance, we’ve been included on a compilation on Silent Records called 50 Years of Sunshine, which is a tribute to Albert Hoffman’s first accidental ingestion of LSD.”
Perry added:
“We also just got an interview with Option magazine, which is doing something LSD-related. They asked us some things about our name…”
The Psychedelic Undertones of ‘Kykeon’
Interestingly, the title “Kykeon” itself carries psychedelic connotations. In ancient Greece, kykeon was a sacred drink used in the Eleusinian Mysteries, religious rites believed to grant initiates transformative visions of life and death. The drink, made of barley and herbs, may have contained psychoactive properties—drawing parallels to LSD’s mind-altering effects.
This connection to altered consciousness also resonated with Ryan Lum’s long-standing fascination with psychedelic music of the ’60s. He often cited bands like Jefferson Airplane and Popol Vuh as formative influences, particularly for their ability to create expansive, mind-altering soundscapes. His appreciation for music as a means of transcendence extended beyond rock—he also found deep inspiration in Indian classical music. After attending live performances of sitar and tabla at Occidental College, he reflected:
“The music took everyone on the same ‘trip.’ It was impossible to be there experiencing the performance and not have your consciousness taken on a journey by the power of the music.”
This hypnotic, transportive quality became central to Love Spirals Downwards’ music. While the band never explicitly aligned themselves with psychedelia, Kykeon’s inclusion on 50 Years of Sunshine—whether intentional or not—felt thematically appropriate given the song’s dreamlike atmosphere and the band’s deep connection to transcendent musical experiences.
The True Origin of Love Spirals Downwards’ Name
Despite the LSD-related speculation, the real inspiration for the band’s name was far less psychedelic—and, in their own words, almost accidental.
By 1995, Love Spirals Downwards had grown tired of repeatedly addressing the meaning behind their initials. In an interview with Danse Macabre, Suzanne Perry acknowledged the persistent curiosity:
“Did you know we did a song for the Fifty Years of Sunshine: Tribute to LSD? So people ask us since it’s LSD (Love Spirals Downwards), ‘Do you guys take LSD?’ We used to say it has no meaning but now we say we think love spirals downwards so we can just say that.”
At that point, they had settled on a simple, poetic response. But the actual story of how they chose the name, as revealed in a 1996 Black Moon interview, was much less deliberate.
“It wasn’t really anything,” Ryan Lum admitted. “We had to pick a band name because when we sent out the demo tapes, we needed a name. We were pressed to come up with something quickly.”
Initially, they didn’t even take the idea of forming a band seriously. Perry recalled that before settling on a name, they jokingly referred to themselves as The Flower People, a reference to Spinal Tap. Other potential names were equally absurd, including Peter Pancreous.
Then, late one night, while sitting in a parked car outside Perry’s house, they heard a phrase on the radio that stuck with them.
“We were listening to the radio one night late to a new age show, and the woman was saying, ‘love, it spirals, upwards, upwards!’ It stuck in Suzanne’s head because it was really late. It was 3 or 4 in the morning. It tripped us out a lot. So we said, ‘OK, that’s the band name, Love Spirals Upwards.‘”
They initially decided on Love Spirals Upwards, but something about it didn’t sit right, as Suzanne continued,
“We thought about it. The acronym was LSU, which is Louisiana State University. There’s something cheesy about love spirals upward, you know?”
A friend ultimately suggested changing “upwards” to “downwards,” both to better fit the band’s melancholic sound and because of the acronym, as Suzanne explained in a 1993 interview with AS IF:
“A friend of ours suggested that we call ourselves Love Spirals Downwards. It fit the genre better. It fit our music better, and also there was that acronym, which was kind of interesting. A lot of people think the name fits our music; it’s kind of that transcendence, that same kind of thing.”
The band was aware of the drug reference, but it wasn’t the driving force behind the name. As Lum clarified in a 1997 KUCI interview:
“Anyway, our choice of a band name didn’t follow from our wanting to associate ourselves with the drug. It’s hard to think of a name. We should have just sent it out as Ryan and Suzanne.”
After years of answering the same question, he had clearly had enough.
Remastered Reissue Bonus Tracks
The 2007 gatefold CD reissue of Idylls by Projekt Records contains three additional tracks that offer a deeper glimpse into the band’s formative years.
“Mediterranea” was one of three songs included on the demo tape the fledgling duo submitted to Projekt for consideration. It was first released in 1991 on the label’s compilation From Across This Gray Land 3, alongside the track “Forgo.” Markedly different in style from much of Idylls, “Mediterranea” became a live staple, exemplifying the band’s early 4AD-inspired sound with Perry’s signature glossolalic vocals.
The track’s lush, atmospheric quality quickly captured attention. The Ninth Wave reflected on its impact in a 1995 issue:
“While the beautiful sounds of California’s Projekt Records have almost become a genre of their own, it was back in 1992 that I first discovered the label, through a compilation entitled From Across This Gray Land 3. The album’s opener was a lush combination of dreamy, swirling guitar and blissful vocals, and I was instantly hooked. That song was ‘Mediterranea’ by Love Spirals Downwards.”
The reason this song wasn’t initially included on Idylls was as practical one, as explained by Lum in a 1993 interview with Noising Therapy:
“One of Sam’s requirements for the sampler From Across This Gray Land 3 was that we make it an unreleased title. We chose ‘Mediterrannea'”
Another notable addition is the “Heavenly Voices Mix” of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” an extended version clocking in at four minutes and twenty seconds — nearly two minutes longer than the original album version. While Idylls fades out at a mere two and a half minutes with the faint echo of Perry’s final “ki yay yo” lingering, this extended version features a mournful e-bow guitar solo and beautifully layered vocal harmonies.
The track was first featured on Heavenly Voices, the 1993 inaugural compilation from Germany’s Hyperium Records. Released as a limited-edition box set of 1000 copies with elaborate artwork and inserts, the 2-CD collection introduced listeners to the label’s signature aesthetic. Hyperium founder Oli Rösch coined the term “Heavenly Voices” to describe female-fronted bands across genres such as ethereal, neo-folk, neo-classical, avant-garde, goth rock, and industrial. Love Spirals Downwards’ inclusion alongside acts like Chandeen and Bel Canto further solidified their standing within the ethereal wave scene. Interestingly, the extended mix was not labeled as a special version on the compilation but has since been officially recognized as “Love’s Labour’s Lost (Heavenly Voices Mix)” on the Idylls reissue.
Finally, the reissue includes a rare live recording of “Scatter January” from the band’s performance on the Echoes Living Room Concert series. The intimate, stripped-down recording offers a glimpse into Love Spirals Downwards’ sound in a live setting. While the duo did not tour to promote Idylls, this performance — recorded after their sophomore album — serves as a snapshot of how they brought their layered studio compositions to life on stage.
These bonus tracks add richness to the Idylls experience, allowing listeners to trace the duo’s sonic evolution from early demos to live renditions, while celebrating their enduring contributions to the ethereal wave genre.
A Timeless Landmark: The Enduring Appeal of Idylls
Tracks like “Dead Language” highlight the transcultural and timeless qualities of Idylls, blending Middle English influences, spiritual abstraction, and Indian classical rhythms into a soundscape that feels ancient yet modern. Its inclusion alongside songs like “This Endris Night” and “Stir About the Stars” reinforces the album’s status as an ethereal exploration of spirituality, nature, and emotional resonance.
Decades later, Idylls remains a landmark of the ethereal wave genre, praised for its immersive beauty and timeless innovation. Its ability to transport listeners to dreamlike realms ensures its enduring appeal, solidifying Love Spirals Downwards as one of the most important voices in ethereal music.
With Idylls, Love Spirals Downwards crafted an album rich in ethereal textures and poetic abstraction. But as their sound continued to evolve, they ventured into more layered production and refined experimentation—culminating in their next album, Ardor