Library Voices: Lovish

Lovish, the third full-length album from Canadian band Library Voices, is a record that almost didn't happen. Their 2011 album Summer of Lust and its seemingly-endless tour left the band exhausted and in need of break. Just as they reconvened to record the new album, singer and guitarist Carl Johnson was hospitalized after a random attack where he was beaten and left unconscious on the street. The situation was serious enough that there was concern he wasn't going to be able to play music again. But thankfully, after some hard days of recovery, he has returned and, along with his bandmates, helped to make Lovish a must-listen record for 2015.

For some reason Canadians (like the New Pornographers, Sloan and Sam Roberts) have a great grasp of how to write solid, guitar-based songs and how to string a bunch of them together to make albums that offer always-intriguing variations of such a pop music staple. Library Voices demonstrate this ability nicely on this new album, ranging from the epic ("Every Night") to the raucous ("Bored in Berlin"). There are mid-tempo soft-rock jams like "Sunburnt in LA," punk rock-influenced rockers like "Slacker," and super-mellow ballads like "The Wild Roar of Love." It's a rich batch, and I, for one, am grateful it successfully made its way to my ears.

-Eric J. Lawrence

Tracklist:

1. Oh Donna

2. Sunburnt in LA

3. Slacker

4. Zzyzx

5. Hey! Adrienne

6. The Wild Roar of Love

7. Escape Artist

8. Fangs of Love

9. Death by Small Talk

10. Bored in Berlin

11. Every Night