Though no stranger to delicate Americana heart-tugging music, on Love Songs For Losers, The Lone Bellow’s fifth LP and second in two years, the band once again traces scars of loneliness and hurt, but also offers some reflection on love and joy throughout making for one of their most eclectic albums yet, both musically and thematically.
The synth-heavy “Honey – one of the album’s early singles, has all the hallmarks of The Lone Bellow, haunting but sweet vocals, delicate harmonies, and deeply informed lyrics. But on the very next song, “Gold,” the band tackles opioid addiction and dying communities in first person – again relying heavily on synths, but for an entirely different vibe. Elsewhere, “I’m In Love,” is anchored by electric guitars and a triumphant chorus, while “Dreaming” is a soft, languid piano ballad, but both songs are equally impressive. “Caught Me Thinking,” an R&B-inspired track complete with horns, is one of the band’s most ambitious songs yet and is pulled off flawlessly.
While Zach Williams takes lead vocals on most tracks here, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, takes the mic on the dreamy “Cost Of Living”. Williams takes back lead vocals on “Unicorn,” a very public love letter to his wife who managed to recover from paralysis; “I was kind of thinking I could tell you my feelings, sit you down and wreck you with some words that are pretty, I could say ‘I love you’ but it’s such a bore, I think God made a unicorn”.
The album was recorded in the late Roy Orbison’s supposedly haunted home – which is not really relevant to this review but a cool fact, nonetheless. Though Love Songs For Losers has many of the familiar markings of the band, the album finds the trio at their most experimental, diverse in subjects and sound – all while still sounding very much like a Lone Bellow album.
