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Mary Lorson & Saint Low

Tricks For Dawn

spinART / Cooking Vinyl

www.spinartrecords.com

        Mary Lorson first came to prominence as a member of Madder Rose, who popped onto the scene in 1992 with their “Headshot” 7-inch, then continued to record throughout the decade (their most recent release was Hello June Fool in ‘99).  In 1997, however, Lorson instigated a side project known as Saint Low; their first single, “Keep An Open Mind,” was released that year, but their self-titled full-length debut didn’t make it to stores until 2000.  Somewhere between Saint Low and the follow-up, 2002’s Tricks For Dawn, the group became known as Mary Lorson & Saint Low.  Seems reasonable enough; after all, Lorson fronts the band and wrote all the songs on the new album.  Lorson’s silky, seductive voice is the primary ingredient keeping Tricks For Dawn from falling into the category of “way too mellow,” but the wide and varied instrumentation certainly helps keep things interesting as well.  “Accelerate,” for instance, features piano, slide guitar, violin, trumpet, and French horn.  There are occasional moments where the album comes close to Velvet Underground territory in its melancholy feel. The album’s unquestionable highlight, however, is “Anything Can Happen,” a piano-driven pop song with a deceptively light and breezy feel that, lyrically, could be called the female response to the Fountains of Wayne’s “Troubled Times.”  Tricks For Dawn is way mellow, yes, but it’s way smooth, too.

The Lungz

At Last…

Zip Records

http://www.thelungz.com

                It's common for critics to compare the thrill of listening to an album with a sound firmly rooted in the style of a bygone era to that of "discovering a lost classic.”  That being the case, there’s no guilt required when admitting that At Last..., the debut from Sweden’s the Lungz, could readily pass for an album released in the early '80s.  What’s most impressive about At Last..., however, is that the Lungz manage capture the feel of the period so effortlessly that never once do you feel as though they’re trying too hard. Often, artists like Joy Electric and the Future Bible Heroes pay tribute to their musical heritage in such an obvious manner that they inspire the urge to say, “Okay, we get it, you like ‘80s music, enough already.”  The Lungz, however, encapsulate that particular musical atmosphere without sounding derivative.  Tracks like “It’s Alright,” “Fanatic,” “Our Revenge,” and “Lover” will indeed please fans of Depeche Mode, the Human League, and a-ha…but they won’t alienate today’s music fan, and therein lies the difference.

(originally appeared in Amplifier Magazine)