SIMON LOVE is the kind of guy you’d wanna punch the shit out of. He’s clever and funny, a real smart ass, and everything he says to you, no matter how mean, is just true enough to piss you off. Of course, if he was your little brother you’d think, “That little prick is funnier than shit!”
Take the title of his second album, Sincerely, S. Love x. Before you even see the song titles you know this guy is either a real precious fella or a sarcastic little snot. Indeed, with song titles like “God Bless the Dick Who Let You Go,” “(Why’d You Get That) Tattoo, Girl?” and “All This Dicking Around (Is Bringing Me Down)”, you know you’re in for an album that’s likely to be quite funny. And it is. AND… luckily… it’s damn good. Here’s a power pop record that sounds like Jellyfish going on a Beach Boys bender with Neil from The Young Ones in tow. Arrangements are pretty lush with ’60s organs (or maybe mellotron?) and guitars, thick harmony vocals and Simon’s boy-next-door singing and earnestness. Sincerely, S. Love x features some clever punnery, too, whether he’s singing “I never knew you were a Tennis Fan… how was I to know that love meant nothing to you” or “Here comes the Golden Boy, the sun shining out his ass and lighting up everyone he meets…”
Typically, so much sarcasm and wordplay will wear thin after a few plays, but thanks to Love’s clever hooks, semi-lo-fi production and near-epic arrangements, I don’t think that’ll happen. The fact that he can write a poignant, heartfelt love song with a title and chorus of “I F [Heart] U” is not lost on this rock critic. Sincerely, S. Love x (the x is as in x’s and o’s) is a power pop album with humor as its secret weapon.
3.5/5 (Tapete Records TR406, 2018)
NuDisc 