Oh boy, do I like this album. I would like most any album starting out with the lyrics: “I believe in an outerspace/with radio towers and superpowers,” but there are all sorts of other good things on this disc to enjoy. Lovers are on the Orange Twin label, which houses several Elephant 6 bands. You can hear some Elephant 6 in her lyrical approach, which catches some of that sad and poignant fantasy. Carolyn Berk’s lyrics are fresh in the way that makes me want to have a conversation with her. Most of these songs are about relationships (Lovers!), but in a way that makes you forget that every other song out there is too. Ever since “You are Free,” comparisons with Cat Power seem to latch onto any woman with a guitar who puts out a good dark album, so I won’t do that – however, I will say that Lovers have a lush, organic sound, which sits someplace between the melodic sensibility of the Cranberries, who are good, and the dark/rootsy/eclectic instrumentation of Nina Nastasia, who is also good. These tunes explore the full range of mellow, which provides consistency throughout without getting boring. The songs are mostly driven by acoustic guitar, lots of cello, violin, brooding base synth, and even a banjo and trombone here and there. Highly recommended – Matt M.

Play this song *
1. *Down-tempo – wonderful song – about outerspace, it includes a soft trombone solo, which makes you wonder why more bands don’t use trombones.
2 Mid-up-tempo – begins with a slow intro, then picks up – there are lots of strings in this one and a xylophone too. Mostly driven by acoustic guitar and a fiddle loop.
3. *Down-temp – sparse acoustic guitar crescendos into a something grandiose. It reminds me of the Cranberries “Dreaming my Dreams,” which is not a bad thing. I like the imagery in this story song about a relationship.
4. Mid-tempo – there is a distant banjo flowing throughout this song, which along with the mellow synthesizer, creates a soundbed for the guitar, which combines to make me like this song.
5. ** Mello but ardent– Cello and harmonium – listen to her rhyme with intelligence! “Fear fort!” Who thinks of such great lyrics? Brilliant! More: “there’s a whole group of state now/I don’t want to set foot on.”
6. *Mid-up tempo – more cello – when the snare come in after the first verse, this song gets rocking in an eccentric way and dark way.
7. Down-tempo – more strong cello – and that smooth trombone returns to.
8. * Mid-down tempo – talks about chemicals in her head. I like how she describes relationships in her songs. The lyric “Touch me as much as you possibly can” is amazing – if you don’t believe me, listen to this track.
9. Mid-up-tempo – good song, not her best. I like that snare drum.
10. * Down-tempo – I can imagine someone crying through this whole song, and then when it is over, being a stronger person.