Customer Reviews

The Present Lover

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

 

 

Luomo's sophomore release the "Present Lover" is a very impressive follow-up to his cult classic "Vocalcity"! The picture of the Bridgette Fonda-looking model on the cover notwithstanding, this set of 10 truly long-playing songs is just what the doctor ordered, especially to someone like me who likes house music, but not the monotonous drone of most of the faceless bands that are doin' it these days. Indeed, songs like the title track, "What Good?", "Could Be Like This", "Shelter" and "Body Speaking" are full of texture, character, originality and strong dance floor appeal. If you don't dig this one, you're either deaf, or the other word that goes along with that word!

As a fan of Vladislav Delay, I was interested to check out his work as Luomo. For a few minutes, I almost didn't believe it was the same composer - it's so vastly different than what I'm used to hearing from VD. After a few tracks, it became more and more apparent: under the glossy production and lovely vocals, I could hear his unique compositional elements poking through. It's like Naked Music meets weird experimental electronic music. It's thoroughly catchy, but with substance.

Overall, this is a very lush album - great for just relaxing. If you're a fan of that Naked Music/Hed Kandi style of female vocals with a laid back vibe, you need this album. It gives the same effect, but there's a lot more going on musically than with some of those one-off deep house artists. Check it out.

I just rediscovered my love for this record, and can't tout it enough. Luomo delivers an album full of soul and sophisticate - his recipe combines the delicious flavors of deep and micro house to create one delightful dish. The result: sheer enjoyment for the ears and the libido. Keep an an eye out for the rerelease of Vocalcity as well - another fabulous record.

Superb fusion of soul and electro - a great bedroom album, though the breathy female vocals may be a bit overdone. If you like Saint Germaine, llorca, Jill Scott, The Dining Rooms, Royksopp - give this young Finn a spin. Also try Vocalcity, his first album - less vocal content.

The Present Lover, Luomo's second album, ironically, has more vocals than on Vocalcity. Whereas Vocalcity was house placed in outer space, The Present Lover comes crashing down to Earth -- Earth in the mid-80s, no less. There's much more cheeky pop on this new album, as evidenced on the spoken word on "Talk in a Danger." The vocals, however, also detract from the album; some lyrics are laughably cheesy (as on the opening track "Visitor") and the breathy delivery takes me right back to the time of parachute pants and Members Only jackets. The production is still top-notch, though ("The Present Lover," for example), and this album is certainly immediate and accessible. But compare the original "Tessio" to the one of The Present Lover and you'll be able to hear the difference. The new version is good; it's just not as good.

The Present Lover is a great album to chill to at home before heading out to the bar or just to chill. Dj Foil recommends this cd as well.

This is a very slick, subtle and sensual record, right to the last track. The sounds are MUCH more impressive than the artwork...

Sometimes, the only reason to make good music is to get a chance to sell out. Finnish producer Sasu Ripatti got that chance after making Vocalcity in 2001. It was a melancholy and hypnotic album built on long instrumental grooves and hushed lonely dub echoes, all in the context of traditional house music. The enigmatically forlorn sound was very popular with techno fans and critics alike. But if that's what you're expecting from Ripatti's 2004 followup The Present Lover, look elsewhere. Here, Ripatti does what he always wanted to do: he clutches at mainstream appeal and panders to clubgoers.

Consider the fact that The Present Lover contains a new version of "Tessio." The original version was already the low point of Vocalcity -- of all the tracks on that album, "Tessio" was the only one that felt like a calculated attempt to make a popular song with ingratiating R&B-style lyrics and vocals. But amazingly, the version on The Present Lover panders even more to pop cliches. It keeps all of the idiotic lyrics, and adds a constipated, saccharine acoustic guitar. And unfortunately, it's not a fluke -- "Tessio" is Ripatti's blueprint for the whole album. Nearly every song prominently features cooing vocals over club-ready house beats, covered by a glossy production. And "Tessio" actually has one of the better-written lyrics, compared to some other tracks. Examples: "Could silence protect us? Could silence be silence?" ("Talk In Danger") and "Good, good, good / anything, anything goes" ("What Good").

Interestingly, despite the ultra-smooth production, Ripatti doesn't totally abandon the downbeat mood of Vocalcity. This is not a straightforwardly hedonistic dance album, at least not entirely. In "Talk In Danger," the vocalist refers to some kind of estrangement or isolation, and other songs bemoan someone's coldness or artificiality. But these sentiments come amidst a lot of thinly-veiled sexual references and preening come-ons (like the title track's endless insistence that "I am the present, the true lover" -- someone tell Ripatti that this kind of statement becomes less convincing with repetition), and are delivered in the exact same breathy way. The album is using these references to danger and loneliness as a kind of seduction strategy. If I may try your patience with an analogy, the album resembles a party girl who goes out drinking and dancing every night, and then calls her submissive male friend in between visits to clubs to complain that her life has no meaning. There's nothing behind the complaint, other than a fleeting mood swing and a desire to appear interesting.

Maybe the album seems so shallow because of the two tracks where Ripatti himself does the vocals. His emasculated vocal style is typical for this kind of club-oriented music, but his lyrics are inane even by that low standard, and it quickly becomes very irritating to hear him repeat them in his demonstratively "sensitive" tone. Remember, the album's idea of soul-searching is a line like, "Baby, it's okay, we'll make it better / Maybe I'll survive, without all these women in my life." Your self-sacrifice is an inspiration to us all, man.

But, those parts of the album that are a little less heavy on, uh, deep emotional truths, are still enjoyable as dance music. There are absolutely no purely musical standout moments, like for instance the unexpected, brilliant hook in the middle of Vocalcity's "Class." Nonetheless, the production certainly sounds good, and quite a few of the songs are backed by tight, strong, upbeat house grooves. Its lyrical idiocy notwithstanding, "The Present Lover" brings in a funky rattling rhythm towards the end that really does have a bit of seductive feel. And "Talk In Danger" certainly has a very firm, satisfying drum track. Combined with the female vocalist's husky whisper, it might not have much emotional substance, but it is pleasing late-night listening. Even "What Good," saddled with such an inept frontman, still has a good danceable bass line.

And, very rarely, the album shows a glimpse of Vocalcity -- not the bastardized pseudo-emotional "sensitive" version discussed above, but the lonely, contemplative mood of Ripatti's first album. One such moment occurs in "Visitor," where the female vocalist softly sings the usual romantic complaints over a beatless ambient backdrop. The smoothness of the production makes her voice seem weightless and adrift. The sensuous vulnerability of this opening might lead you to expect more from the album than it has to offer. A similar feeling appears in the final track "Shelter," where the same vocalist repeats, "I'm trying to stand with you together," a somewhat more humble sentiment than what's on display in the other songs, and delivered with restrained yearning.

"Could Be Like This" is the only track on the album to de-emphasize the vocals. There is one vocal phrase which is heavily treated to the point of incomprehensibility, and this looped phrase slips in and out of the foreground over the course of the track. The main focus is on a rhythmic keyboard line produced with a dramatic echo. It's probably the only time when the music on the album becomes more than a danceable background, and thus it's the only time when the album touches on the same style that made Vocalcity appealing.

The Present Lover is a decent choice for those occasions when you want to listen to some music, but you don't want to pay too much attention to it. Like a party in its later stages, after the initial rush has subsided, or an hour of relaxation before bedtime after a long day at work. But it's hard to recommend it when Vocalcity is better in every way.