Review Summary: Taking a different direction without getting lost
It’s very shocking to realize that
Love was made by the same man who released
Flow only four years before. Up to this point, JG Thirlwell’s musical outfit,
Foetus, was known for its intense music. Ear-splitting choruses, insane performances, and overtly-negative lyrics were not uncommon for Foetus, making it all the more surprising to find out that Love is the eighth Foetus album.
Love focuses much more on atmosphere and much less on attitude. Elements of modern classical and ambient music are very much present on the record, and lyrical themes highlight concepts such as self-reflection and failing relationships. Now that I think about it,
Love is perhaps the most relatable and personal Foetus record Thirlwell has ever done; No other album before or after it goes anywhere near the same level relatability, which actually gives the album its own unique charm to it. Not to say that it doesn’t have it’s fair share of fantasy elements, although.
As mentioned earlier, the musical elements take its cue from classical music, for the most part. Instruments such as the harpsichord are not foreign for
Love, and at times the album feels like a straight-up ambient record. Take “Don’t Want Me Anymore” as an example; The song revolves around a surprisingly gentle synthesized loop that feels like the musical equivalent to a flowing river, tranquil and cool. Thirlwell practically whimpers in a very dry tone of voice; he legitimately sounds upset in this track. What really makes this track shine, however, is how it builds up. As every minute passes by, a loop is subtly added to the track. These loops pile upon each other, climaxing to a near-explosive ending, only to fade away, leaving behind a harpsichord rendition of the melody. It’s quite beautiful to listen to and is definitely a career highlight for Thirlwell.
While tracks like “Don’t Want Me Anymore” and “Paredolia” utilize the quiet, ambient side of the musical spectrum, tracks like “(Not Adam)” and “Time Marches On” combine elements of pop with classical music, resulting in surprisingly epic tracks. “Time Marches On” starts with a repetitive, 2-note piano loop, eventually leading to marching drums, swirling horns, and uplifting keys, and that all comes in before the chorus! “(Not Adam)” is an intense opener, the way the violins screech over Thirlwells gruff voice makes your adrenaline rush a bit, and the chorus has a real “victorious” tone to it, so much so that it gives off a sense of euphoria. As great as these tracks are, however, they display the main issue with
Love: Thirlwells vocals.
As great as he is at growling, moaning, and such, his voice was just not made for melodic singing at all. Whenever he tries to hit high notes, his voice almost always comes out as a weird sounding whine. He has a really nasally tone to his voice to, which is something that’s very hard to ignore after a while. However, at times he actually his voice actually works well, like on “Aladdin Reverse”.
His whine is far less annoying and much more interesting on this track, suiting very well with the rings of the harpsichord present on the song. The chorus is incredibly explosive and uplifting, backed up with a horn section that sounds like it could reach the stars. The post-chorus bridge section is also very nice, reminiscent in tone to
Flow-era Foetus, fit with Thirlwell’s trademark snarl. “Aladdin Reverse” is hands-down the best track on the entire record, with the only other song being anywhere near it’s level being “How To Vibrate”. This song is perhaps the most intense track on the record, the amount of distortion in the synthesizers are enough to make one’s head spin, and Thirlwell’s cruel croaking of
“you taught me how to vibrate” is chilling.
Love shows Thirlwell taking a different direction with his music. By combining his old tendencies of creating intense music with elements of classical music, he creates a very memorable experience of music. Unfortunately, due to his lack of a pitch-perfect voice, the mood of songs can be ruined, but
Love is an album that certainly proposes a lot of promise.
