Flux by Love Spirals Downwards (Review)

I think I drove my co-workers nuts with this album because I’ve probably listened to it as much as Hooverphonic. Taking their obvious Cocteau Twins influences (it’s almost as if their entire music collection consists of Victorialand and Heaven or Las Vegas), and adding some drum and bass rhythms into the mix, Love Spirals Downwards have released an album that’s incredibly listenable and quite beautiful.

Although the inclusion of drum and bass might cause one to picture incredibly repetitious patterns meant only to dazzle the listener with the DJ’s mad skills, the 9 songs on Flux are just that… songs. The beats almost always take second place to the lush vocals and guitars, adding spice only when needed.

I’m quite taken by this, and it’s probably one of my favorite albums to come out on Projekt (yes, that Projekt). There’s a melancholy air to many of these songs, but the atmosphere is never oppressive or dark. The only problem is that towards the end, the album loses a little bit of its appeal and tends to get a little repetitive and fluffy. However, the first couple of tracks are absolutely killer, especially the opening “City Moon” and “Alicia” with its spanish guitar flourishes. Although it may suffer from active listening, it’s superb at setting an atmosphere, when you just to chill out and relax.