Customer Reviews

Love Is Real

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the few albums I've listened to in the past year that's instantly catchy. It has a very dark synth sound to it; imagine a cross between Joy Division's sound on Closer with a more electronic sound and deeper, Scott Walker like vocals. I've been playing this non stop since last week and as far as I can tell there's really only a few tracks towards the end that seem a little bit repetitious (if there is to be any complaint made about the record it is that some of the songs sound similar to each other). But this isn't necessarily a bad thing, being that I like his sound. Bottom line here is that this is a fantastic record, and while it does sound similar to certain post punk bands, it's very original and catchy.

John Maus' second release is an interesting mix of `80s synth and dark atmospherics. Some songs are for dancing (the superb "Rights for Gays"), some are for chilling out ("Do Your Best", "Tenebrae"), but overall this is an amazingly consistent collection of songs that would have fit right in with the post-punk movement. The track listing is as follows:

01. Heaven Is Real

02. Do Your Best

03. Rights For Gays

04. Love Letters From Hell

05. The Silent Chorus

06. Navy Seals

07. Pure Rockets

08. My Whole World's Coming Apart

09. Don't Worship The Devil

10. Tenebrae

11. Too Much Money

12. Green Bouzard

13. Old Town

14. Times Is Weird

The only problem I have with the CD is the lo-fi production. Some of the songs are so muffled that they obscure the obvious artistry that went into them. At the same time, this replicates the sound quality of the homemade mix tapes I made on my old cassette recorder in the `80s, so perhaps that makes them more authentic? Hmmmm...