Love Spirals Downwards are an America duo from California who produce Ethereal Dream Pop. On this their forth album the duo incorporated Drum N Bass into their sound. What may have seemed an unusual move turned out to be a fruitful endeavor, a work that could be respected and enjoyed by fans of both geners. After writing about LTJ Bukem's "Logical Progression Level 1" I was reminded of this unique record I found a few years back and decided to give it another spin.
What may seem like an experimental fusion of styles turns out to be a dynamic and effortless relationship. Down tempo break loops and bold sub base lines bring an energy to liven up dreamy, Ethereal sound scapes painted by sweeping, jittery synthesizers and reverb soak guitars that compliment and work with Perry's dreamy voice. Her sister even appears on the track "Psyche" which for me was a highlight vocally. Warm synthesizers drift gently through these energetic break loops as slowly strum chords echo out in reverb soaked glory. The track "Sunset Bell" features a great vocal hook with an inaudible snippet of a word being sampled and pitch shifted in a jittery nature, a memorable moment for me.
Neither of the two styles are compromised on this record which has a sizable amount of variety. Each track utilizes different break loops, with the classic Amen Loop finding room for an appearance on "By Your Side" which is a bit out of step with the bass line and pace of the song. Production wise, its warm and charactered. A great balance is achieved as the sound finds its place for both styles to do their thing. The break loops are crisp and bass lines very bold and audible, the Ethereal synths and guitar leads have great cohesion as the reverb soaked instruments melt together under the warm voice of Perry. It just crossed my mind that on first listen this never felt like two styles were being fused together and that itself is testament to this record and a great note to end on.
Favorite Songs: City Moon, Nova, Sunset Bell
Rating: 7/10