Ex-Rival Schools guitarist Ian Love sheds his post-hardcore skin and in favor of a gentle, earnest folk skin, in part to celebrate his new life as sober husband and father. Maybe I’m a sappy sucker for sober husbands and fathers, but I think “The Only Night” is a beautiful love song (get it? love song?). Simple plucked chords lap up against unassuming vocals, capturing that sense that the world has retreated for a moment so two people can be alone:
“And I stay quiet
And we’re so patient
As the stars jump side to side
And this feels like the only night”.
The 101
Lest we forget that the three golden rules of pop are hooks, hooks, and hooks, the 101 are here to remind us, and remind us, and remind us. It’s not just that the guitar-driven power pop melodies are spare and infectious, nor that the emo-laden lyrics are repeated with mantra-like efficiency, it’s that the combination feels like a head-bobbing security blanket that we can wrap ourselves around all summer long.
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start
Come for the name (the cheat code for endless lives on the Nintendo classic Contra, fyi), stay for the thrilling emo…tional rollercoaster rides.
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