With 2020's
Half Moon Light,
the Lone Bellow showcased a shift in creative direction. With producer
Aaron Dessner, they shifted their country-derived sound to engage indie rock and adult alternative. They allowed a larger role for keyboards without sacrificing emotional heft or a knack for melodic hooks. To guarantee they got it right this time, they self-produced the poignant, 11-song
Love Songs for Losers and move further from their origins to excellent result.
Opener and advance single "Honey" commences with shimmering moody keyboards and amplified acoustic guitars atop a throbbing, droning bassline.
The Lone Bellow production template alternately recalls the synth atmospherics of
Bruce Springsteen's
Tunnel of Love, and
Joshua Tree-period
U2. The melody is all theirs, however, as
Zach Williams' lyric reflects his wife Stacy's chagrin at being called "honey" or "baby." The redemptive chorus breaks the frame: "I got the headlights off and the radio on/Every window is down here comes that song/We used to sing so loud at the top of our lungs/Put the pedal to the floor let the darkness come." In "Gold," a skeletal snare, ringing guitars, and hovering synth underscore
Williams' vocal as he addresses the plight of an opiate addict. Poetic lyrics are offered in a soaring low tenor; they juxtapose fleeting memory, desperation, resignation, and illusory hope above a clash of rock drums,
Brian Elmquist's roaring guitars, and
Kanene Donehey Pipkin's keyboards. "I'm in Love" is an anthemic rocker with cascading harmonies that depict the full flush of fevered romance that exists at the exclusion of everything else. Americana, early roots rock, and doo wop emerge on "Cost of Living," composed by
Pipkin; she also delivers its glorious lead vocal. The grain in her singing voice reveals devastation and betrayal, as the lyric metaphorically equates love's devastating loss with the almost unbearable cost the heart pays to carry on. The use of pillowy reverb on the
Buddy Holly-esque "Unicorn" is smooth, sweet, and tender, with breaking drums and intricate vocal harmonies. "Move" is an acoustically driven paean to a dying loved one. It honestly addresses years of miscommunication and distance, while desiring the beloved's transition from infirmity to freedom amid muted banjos, swelling horns, and buoyant vocal choruses. "Homesick" is a rootsy, country-bluegrass tune sung in tribute to family and the protagonist's unquenchable thirst for home. Its singalong chorus is supported by strummed acoustic and whining steel guitars, fiddles, mandolins, and a shuffling snare. It serves as the theme song to the Magnolia Network renovation series The Williams Family Cabin, starring
Zach and
Stacy Williams. "Caught Me Thinking" nods to vintage R&B and gospel a la
the Band. It offers strutting horns, pumping pianos, seamless, resonant vocal harmonies, and a searing lyric that speaks to the painful memories associated with lost love.
The Lone Bellow took a risk in self-producing
Love Songs for Losers, and they pulled it off. Through this deeply moving collection of songs with a wide range of musical expressions, the album offers creative abundance and possibility. ~ Thom Jurek
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