Recently I sat down and chilled out to "Future Past" by Lovespirals. Anji Bee at the Chillcast (mentioned previously here at ChilloutScene.com) and also the wonderfully awesome voice of Lovespirals hooked me up with a copy of their latest album for review. I must say it is a delightfully chill album.
Lovespirals features Ryan Lum on drums, keyboard, as well as guitar and the previously mentioned Anji Bee providing her heavenly vocals. This is their 4th full-length album and the first one I've heard all the way through. After giving this one a turn, however, I really want to hear more of their previous work!
Here's a breakdown of some of my favorite tracks-
The first track "Home" has a great minimalistic sound to it. It has a wonderful Zero 7-like feel, especially in the tone Ryan selected for the keys as well as the accompanying acoustic guitar chords and synth effects in the background. It features a great solo on the keys as well. Anji's layered vox add the frosting to this delicious cupcake of a track.
"Love" is a more uptempo house track. It's still on the lighter side, but it's proof that Lovespirals can do more than just slow stuff. Ryan's guitar work on this track starts a trend of fabulously bluesy riffs and compliment this track nicely. It's featured mostly as an accompaniment throughout the song but the solo towards the end really had me hooked!
"Meanwhile, Irreplaceable Time Flees" is a sultry instrumental track towards the end of the album. The ambient track includes some bluesy guitar by Ryan again. I thought it was a very similar style to Eric Clapton's work on the original Lethal Weapon soundtrack. SO good. This track leads nicely into the next one- "Insignificant." Anji's layered vocals are very well done on this track and help continue the sexy/bluesy vibe started by "Meanwhile..." The off beat drums create a bit more complicated beat but it works very nicely with the rest of the music.
Finally, I really enjoyed the ballad "Sinking" which references the troubles in life and that they can't be that bad compared to people living in poverty. From the sound of ocean waves at the beginning to the soulful organ sound on the keys, this track creates another great bluesy track. Ryan's smokin' guitar playing continues to amaze me on this one as well.
Overall, I really like Lovespirals' sound on this album, especially since it is similar to one of my favorite chillout artists, Zero 7. I think Ryan's bluesy guitar playing is what makes them unique and makes them even more interesting than Zero 7 since they don't just stick to acoustic guitar parts and electronic drum and bass tracks. Anji's vocals also set Lovespirals apart from other artists as even the quieter parts are nice and smooth, rather than whispery. She makes her voice appear so delicate that it could fade away if any quieter, but it remains nice, smooth, and chill.
Check out Future Past right away HERE....I highly recommend it!
Keep chillin'
Chris
chris@chilloutscene.com
