A Cure for Love sent their album my way just a few days before my brother’s wedding. It’s been on my mind ever since but between the wedding and then trying to get caught up after said wedding, I just haven’t had the time to check it out. Although I’m still far from being caught up on work (yes… still… oh the joys of being self-employed), I really want to check out this album so let’s jump into it!
“What’re You Gonna Do, Bleed On Me?” is the first track on this eleven-song album. It starts off with a super irresistible drum line before the rest of the band comes in with a classic indie-rock vibe. Beyond the catchiness of the overall composition of this track, I found myself completely addicted to the words. “I look up I see the birds and they look so at home.” That’s obviously a bit of a statement of fact but the poetry in that line alone had me stuck and that continues throughout this nearly seven minute long song. Even though it is a lengthy song and I had plenty of time to write as it pumped through the speakers scattered throughout my house, I found myself just completely lost in the words trying not to miss a single line or magical poetry (and there are seriously many of them).
It’s a little ironic that I was caught by a lyric about birds when the second track on this album is titled “Cafeteria Harrison (Isn’t It Grand to Feed the Birds?)”. This song has an almost vintage feeling to it. From the guitar progressions to the overall recording quality of it, there’s something ever so slightly fuzzy about this song that fits so perfectly yet this song feels well produced. Again, I found myself stuck in the words of this track. It’s an upbeat song but the lyrics seem to revolve around the idea of just being lonely which, as we all know, we all feel so I loved the way that it brought a positive spin to the extensitial crisis we all go through on a daily basis. This was instantly a favorite song of mine.
“Anor Londo, My Heart Burns for You” brings a whole new vibe to this album. Think honky-tonk but with a more modern and pop-punk undertone to it, this instantly reminded me of old school Get Up Kids but with a hint of something that I just couldn’t quite put my finger on. Maybe a little Modern Baseball but only if they had grown up in the south and with mullets? Weird, I know and probably a terrible comparison but that’s where my head was at throughout this track.
A Cure for Love wastes no time jumping into “Tumbleweed Salesman in the Winter”. It’s almost an abrupt beginning but I kind of like how that works. The vocals in this one switch from an almost southern drawl to a straight ode to Blink 182 but without sounding overly commercialized or anything. Again, I found myself super addicted to the words as they flew by throughout this track but also felt this track lacked a sense of emotion that I got in the previous ones. It’s not that this song was bad but it just felt a bit darker and more mundane than what I had gotten from A Cure for Love previously.
Thankfully, “The World is Your Oyster (Willy’s Wonderland)” brings back the positive vibe I love about this band so much with that pop-punk edge. Nasally vocals are the name of the game in this track which has me wondering if there may be multiple vocalists in this group (but I don’t research the bands I review that much and you are getting my thoughts on my first listen through the album so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how the band responds to this to know if there are multiple vocalists). Regardless, although the vocals are completely different than the previous four tracks, this song is clearly that of A Cure for Love which is perfect. This song brings an arena-ready guitar solo with powerful drums that I was not expecting but instantly wanted so much more of.
“The Lantern” kicks off with the words “I just want to be like a blizzard” which fit perfectly for me as I sat at my desk and glanced out my window at the falling snow. Again, I was getting an almost Blink 182 circa Matt Skiba days vibe from the vocals but there’s just something about the composition of this song that keep is from feeling overdone or overly familiar. “The Lantern” was another instant favorite of mine due to everything as a whole. From the vocals to the instrumentation to the beat and composition– everything about this track was just flawless.
At just over two minutes long, “Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night” is the shortest track on this album but may be the most powerful. Although the vocals feel a lot like the vibe I got from “Tumbleweed Salesman in the Winter” with the darkness that comes with them, that darkness matches the heaviness of the words perfectly. This song shows a more sensitive side to A Cure for Love which I am absolutely here for and although it didn’t match my mood perfectly as I am not feeling super moody for once, I will absolutely be carrying this song in my back pocket for those days.
I assumed that the moodiness would continue through “It’s Raining in My Living Room (Petrichor V)” solely due to the name of the track. Although the lyrics carried the same heaviness as in “Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night”, this song was much more upbeat with contrasting vocals that were just the icing on the cake throughout this track. Although the two vocals seem to battle it out for the attention, the battle is a gorgeous thing and single-handedly conveys an undeniable sense of emotion. I swear I won’t ruin all of the lyrics of this album but this song ends with “You can look but you can’t take anything with you” being repeated a few times— I mean, come on… hit me right in the gut why don’t you.
I really liked the prominent sound of acoustic guitars throughout “Pancho”. Although the third-to-last track, I loved that A Cure for Love still have some tricks up their sleeves and this song is absolutely one of those. Again, the emotion that comes attached to this track is palpable and this was another one of those tracks that I found myself completely lost in. Before I knew it, it was being pushed off of my speakers by “Bonding Over Beet Juice”.
I may hate beets which means it’s probably safe to assume that I hate beet juice but I loved “Bonding Over Beet Juice”. One of the most tender tracks on the album, I loved how you got a chance to see the extreme musicianship of this band while still getting the undeniable sense of emotion that they pull off so well. The vocals in this track are heavier than anything else on this album which was surprising but it was a happy surprise and instantly made this another favorite of mine. There’s a give and take of emotion throughout this track that is something that you truly just have to hear in order to understand.
Closing out this brilliant album is “Unlucky at Cards”. I kind of had a feeling that A Cure for Love would end with a gorgeous love song (with an emo twist, of course) just due to the way the rest of the album is laid out but I wasn’t expecting the jaw-dropping composition I got. I recall seeing mention of this band using some jazz fusion throughout their music but I don’t think I really picked up on it until this final track. Maybe it was there all along, maybe it wasn’t, regardless, it was an element in this final song that I fell head over heels for. It adds another unique spin to an already distinct sound that can only be described as A Cure For Love.
‘Birds, Beasts, Trees, Flowers’ from A Cure for Love has everything from familiar riffs and feelings to completely unique compositions and poetry. This is one of those albums that deserves so much more than just one playthrough so don’t mind me as I go back and start this entire journey all over again… and again… and again… and……
My Favorite Track(s): “Cafeteria Harrison (Isn’t It Grand to Feed the Birds?)”; “The Lantern”; “Bonding Over Beet Juice”
For Fans Of: Pop-Punk Vibes; Emo Poetry; Truly Unique Sounds
Mosh-ability: 6 out of 10
What My Cats Thought Of It: All three cats wandered the house aimlessly
How Badly I Want To See This Performed Live: 9 out of 10
My Overall Rating: 9.2 out of 10
Check Out A Cure for Love here:
Check Out ‘Birds, Beasts, Trees, Flowers’ HERE!
Shameless Self Promotion- Join My Patreon Here!
Buy Me a Coffee (Seriously!)
Check Out My New Playlist With All of My Favorite Songs HERE!
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly
Leave a Reply