#simon love

[kawaiiaeon-blog]

“Because I’m not good enough. Because there’s something off about every single drawing. There’s always one ear higher than the other, or too-short fingers, or visible eraser marks. It’s never perfect.” 

~ Burke, Leah

[aporetic-duckling]

my kokoro goes dokidoki every time my simon wips get a note

[bluestownmusic]

Review: Simon Love & The Old Romantics - Love Sex & Death Etc.

Review: Simon Love & The Old Romantics – Love Sex & Death Etc.

  Review: Simon Love & The Old Romantics – Love Sex & Death Etc.   Simon Love & The Old Romantics – Love Sex & Death Etc. Format: CD – Vinyl LP – Digital / Label: Tapete Records Release: 2022 Tekst: Peter Marinus Voor kwaliteit Britpop kan je tegenwoordig zeer goed terecht bij singer-songwriter Simon Love. Na zijn album ‘Sincerely, S Love X’ uit 2018 komt hij nu met zijn nieuwe album ‘Love Sex…

View On WordPress

[dustedmagazine]

Simon Love — Love, Sex and Death, Etc. (Tapete)

Photo by Rose Stone

Love, Sex and Death etc by Simon Love

“There’s a fine line between champ and chump, between making love and being fucked, between your truth, the truth and a lie,” sings Simon Love against a scratchy acoustic guitar vamp. The song, “You’re On Your Own,” with its lyrics about strangling on an old school tie and its giddy choruses, is a down-home rave-up with extremely clever lyrics. Love works equally comfortably in lush baroque pop, Beatles-esque whimsy, bubblegum-sticky power chords and spare singer-songwriter acoustics, but he’s always sending himself up, too.

Consider, for instance, the 12-bar blues of “The Worst Way to Die,” which traces mournful guitar triplets while musing, “They tell us that drowning’s the best way to go, but how could they know that, how could they know, it isn’t like any of them have died.” The song comes around, eventually, to the romantic notion that “the worst way to die is without you by my side,” but it takes its time getting there, first exploring prickly ideas about various ways to go. It’s sentimental in sound and subject, but also not, a pinprick of cynicism always letting the air out, a bike pump of soft feelings always pushing it back in. If a child picks up a brash chorus of “I love everyone in the whole wide world” in a sing-along song of the same name, he or she will inevitably also add ”except you” before it ends. 

The music is dense and sweet and well-put together, with indomitable melodies and clashing guitar heroics, stringed instruments for heartache and tootling trumpets for joy. “Me and You”’s tender balladry is amped up on power chords, its careening chorus framed with handclaps, as Love celebrates love and marriage (“We’ll say some things and swap two rings and walk out with each other.”). 

The funniest song, though, is the epic “L-O-T-H-A-R-I-O” about a hook-up gone terribly wrong, with a miles-long cab ride to an unpromising boarding house, a frantic search for contraceptives, an interval of erectile dysfunction, and finally, the angry appearance of a live-in boyfriend, all rendered in rhyming verse and briefly recapped by the British broadcaster Jonathan Ross in tones of utter disbelief. No wonder Love was so ready to celebrate matrimony. 

Power pop is something of a niche product these days, where skilled practitioners construct intricate confections of fuzz guitar and fey melodies to mostly limited acclaim. But Love can stand up there with any of them, with big choruses and clever melodic turns, and a habit of wryly undercutting every sentimental impulse with wit.

Jennifer Kelly

[woodencup]

Listen/purchase: Not If I See You First by Simon Love

[woodencup]

Listen/download: Friends - Simon Love by The Corona Underground

[dylanreviewsthings]

Simon Love Exudes Joy In The Whimsical "Sincerely, S. Love X"

Nowadays, music sometimes feels like it's all about the sad side of things. Simon Love breaks that trend with his new record. Simon Love exudes joy in the whimsical Sincerely, S. Love X with his unique positivity and indie production.

There's something almost childlike to the delivery of Sincerely, S. Love X that really makes it sound innocent - but not without his own snarky voice. 'God Bless The Dick Who Let You Go' tells a nice story with cute build, and even though its lyrics are a bit arrogant, it's done in just the right way to still make it endearing. This isn't quite as true in other songs, though: 'Golden Boy,' for example, feels like a failed attempt at being a Father John Misty degree of edgy but ends up being more concerning than anything. 'I Fucking Love You' gets the message across too, but in a way that makes it seem less genuine and more funny.

The sound of the record is what really ties is all together. There's this familiar sound that sounds like The Beatles but without a certain pop accessibility. 'Joey Ramone,' for example, really goes for that 70s pop rock sound and really owns it, even leading to a big end. The whimsical sound of 'Stephen Timothy West' is accentuated by the premise of a note sent to him by a child. Things get even a bit rocky with 'The Ballad Of Simon Love,' and if it weren't for his somewhat annoying arrogance that does drag the record down a bit, it would've been a star track. His ego doesn't get in the way of closing track 'Not If I See You First,' though, with the song ending out the record in a fitting, chill way.

Simon Love exudes joy in the whimsical Sincerely, S. Love X by channeling his inner 70s pop rock, but that doesn't excuse the ego that gets in the way of many songs. Though arrogant at times and perhaps trying to hard at others, the record has an unshakable positivity to it that can't help but to make you smile, whether it's laughter or genuine joy.

Favorite Track: God Bless The Dick Who Let You Go

Least Favorite Tracks: Golden Boy, Stephen Timothy West

Rating: 62 / 100

Stream or buy Sincerely, S. Love X on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: