Simon Love - Sincerely, S. Love x

  by Kimberly Bright

published: 24 / 8 / 2018

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Review

‘Sincerely, S. Love x ‘is the follow-up album to singer-songwriter, guitarist, and occasional DJ Simon Love’s equally wonderful Welsh Music Prize-nominated 2016 debut ‘It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. Simon is joined by Mark West (who also produced the album and backs Simon live as part of the Old Romantics) and Ian from the Lost Cavalry. These are ten fantastic songs, gifting us indie power pop, lush ‘60s pop, classic crooning backed by delightful Burt Bacharach-type strings, harmonies, horn arrangements, and ‘Nuggets‘ garage guitar. Two of the best songs bookend the record: ‘God Bless the Dick Who Let You Go’ and ‘Not if I See You First’, the first single, which has tremendous caustic bite and then fades into dreamy disintegration. ‘God Bless the Dick Who Let You Go’ gets my vote for best wedding song this side of Mr. Sheeran, one that Simon actually wrote as a wedding present for his wife. At the opposite end of romantic themes, the remarkable kiss-off to an ex ‘’Not If I See You First’ (“If you happen upon me in the street or an ambulance or worse/You can usually answer well dressed and rehearsed/But not if I see you first”) has a dark-humoured, silly companion video. I would love to see an angry Graham Parker cover either song. It’s easy to see why his former band the Loves were such a favorite of Marc Riley and John Peel. Love’s humour, clever lyrics, charm, and exuberant vulgarity (‘I Fucking Love You’, ‘All This Dicking Around (Is Bringing Me Down)’) make this album a playful joy to listen to. This is probably what early solo Neil Innes would have sounded like if he had been more pissed off and inclined to swearing. Anyone who prefers their indie pop music to be topical, serious, and devoid of off-beat humour should probably avoid this album altogether. ‘Joey Ramone’ is a plaintive male fan’s love song to the late Ramones singer. ‘The Ballad of Simon Love’ is a self-effacing, very British self-portrait: “Living the dream on limited means.” The merciless but funny ‘Golden Boy’ cheerfully excoriates a popular, handsome, cocky young man who is enjoying his brief moment in the sun. There is a kinder detachment and philosophizing about bad decisions on ‘(Why’d You Get That) Tattoo, Girl?’ and mortality on ('Stephen Timothy West'). Simon’s Twitter account is well worth a follow too, especially if you happen to also share his love of the Arctic Monkeys, two-for-one pizza specials, and hatred for pulpy orange juice. While you’re there, thank him for writing such a splendid and intelligent pop album, and add several x’s.

Track Listing:-

1 God Bless the Dick Who Let You Go
2 The Ballad of Simon Love
3 Joey Ramone
4 Stephen Timothy West
5 I Fucking Love You
6 Tennis Fan
7 Golden Boy
8 (Why'd You Get That) Tattoo Girl?
9 All This Dicking Around (Is Bringing Me Down)
10 Not If I See You First

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/SimonLoveMusi
http://simonlove.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/simonloverules

Label Links:-

http://www.tapeterecords.de/
https://www.facebook.com/tapeterecords
https://twitter.com/tapete
https://www.youtube.com/user/tapeterec

Have a Listen:-