LOVE IN REVERSE'S KEEP UPRIGHT: FULL ALBUM REVIEW

Love in Reverse, the acclaimed ensemble of Michael Ferentino, Andres Karu and Dave Halpern, rolls a new epic onto the playing field: Keep Upright. It's been in development for a spell, with the ardent tease of a couple, catchy singles last year, but now it stands in whole, and whoa!, does it ever strike a comforting, consummate chord. 

The title track (situated as the album's third) is, in fact, the key to understanding the concept's behavioral fabric, encouraging one to stand up and endure, in light of any and all ongoing trouble. It's a self-help kind of anthem, evading that devilish voice that promotes misery and woe, a path devoid of pretense or demands, tapping a contemplative courage that runs thick and fast through Keep Upright's related veins. 

For example, "This Heavy Feeling" (the first in the ten-track queue) captures the confines of fatalism in a manner that only Love in Reverse could render. It speaks of overcoming anxiety, explaining how nothing makes much sense when one faces trepidation, when one's soul feels enflamed, when one's brain proves a terrible trickster. 

"Summer of Horror" is next up, its title invoking a campground slaughter, but it's much more than that. Through Ferentino's pensive lyrics, a love is crashed and burned, or perhaps it's one that's never been born. The resulting pain, in all its glaring glory, presses through: identifiable to all who've yearned for a significant other, only to be ignored. 

"Too Much Thinking" follows the title track, reflecting daily concerns, when one worries about this and that, blowing that oh-so-important chance to keep some order. Ferentino's vocals drive this home with compassion and rage, with a heart-in-the-right-place empathy and I daresay, an ample layer of encroaching dread, which paints a vibrant denouncement of the no-way-out, rat race.  

"Care" commences the album's thematic flipside: a rejection of emotional baggage. To my ears, the track is a sweeping, relationship song, acknowledging the horrid flaws of one's  constitution that a loved one may rub in one's face, and therefore pushes the need for one to sever the necessary ties and escape. 

"Gently Screaming" pays homage to George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," but with a quickening cry that squeezes a listen-up plea, even when acknowledging that the game is fixed. It calls out zombies (in The Hooters tradition), instructing the populace to take note and avoid the bad that one unwittingly seeks.

The latter's message is re-imagined in "Lost Weekend," a title that brings to mind Ray Milland and an empty bottle, but it's really an antidote for fighting decades of doldrums. "Lost Weekend'"s chanted beat, its encircling, euphoric bounce, is sweet and contagious, which makes the act of gaining salvation, of falling in love, credible and as such, acceptable.  

"Lobotomy Song" swings the euphoria even higher, stretching a winding pass, with an on-the-road, 1970s feel. It celebrates shutting off one's brain, taking a vacation from the state of the nation and existing behind a satisfied, smile-less smile. 

Its sequel, "Let Her Run," creates another path to freedom, with an unshackled exaltation that's modern and spacey, with the fortitude to diminish a virulent lass and in so doing, leaving one all the better for it.

"Little Bird" ends the album's journey on soft, soaring wings. Its theme presses the need to please only oneself and not give a damn what the haters say. In this regard, it rejects those who reject, for the views of others mean nothing if they keep one glum. In this severance, this pervading punctuation, comes transcendental peace: indeed, the best means of all to keep upright. 

Keep Upright offers much to consume and appreciate. Attend the musical lecture at  

https://open.spotify.com/album/2xIYpETnNUa7I2IQ8kwkWj?si=1&nd=1&dlsi=7bf5f9a71bae48e9

LOVE IN REVERSE'S KEEP UPRIGHT 2ND SINGLE: SUMMER OF HORROR

I really sunk my audio teeth into Love in Reverse's "This Heavy Feeling," the first single from the band's upcoming album, Keep Upright (see February 2024 post). 

The second single has sprung, and it's just as emotional. However, I believe that "Summer of Horror" works on two, perceptible levels, while achieving a similar, rage-ridden result. 

On one level, it's a companion piece to "This Heavy Feeling," drenched in lament as it questions a rueful status quo. Thanks to Ferentino's honest lyrics, "Summer of Horror" essays a love that's crashed and burned, or perhaps never existed. The pain, in all its glaring glory, presses through: identifiable to all who've yearned for a significant other, only to be ignored. 

On another level, "Summer of Horror" would be ideal as a musical backdrop for a new Friday the 13th or Texas Chain Saw chapter (if only through a peripheral graze of its lyrics), or it could just as well act as a clever insert for The Burning or Twitch of the Death Nerve, where the warm tides break to welcome sprees of carnal slashing. 

No matter the interpretation, "Summer of Horror" holds a hard, swirling vibe that's emblematic of Love in Reverse. The track also shoves, reels and provokes its way toward its defining agitation, doing what the band does best: turning discomfort into positivity through melodious irony.

There's no doubt that Ferentino, Andres Karu and Dave Halpern have once more hit it outta the park. If Keep Upright's inducing singles are any indication, the forthcoming Love in Reverse album could well be the band's greatest success yet!

BTW: For those itchin' to experience "Summer of Horror," it's available for a listen at the below link, accompanied by a landscape-shifting video-collage by the ultra-artistic Michael Mooser. I've watched the contrasting footage more than a dozen times and still can't get enough. Like the song, the imagery is open for interpretation and all the more contagious for it. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcoufSHfcmE

LOVE IN REVERSE: THIS HEAVY FEELING SINGLE

Speak of perfect, musical timing! 

I've been feeling downtrodden and scared as of late, due to my owing hefty taxes without representations and a constant blurring between courage and cowardice on the cultural front, but moreover, the general indifference that characterizes our society as a whole, with one bad stunt chasing the other.

Love in Reverse's "This Heavy Feeling," a single from the band's upcoming album, Keep Upright, has captured my fatalism in a manner that only Michael Ferentino, Andres Karu and Dave Halpern could have rendered, as they share a sentiment that recalls their somber, artistic roots. 

"This Heavy Feeling" speaks of how hard it is to wash away anxiety, despite the enormity of help one seeks. It also claims that nothing makes much sense when all that one faces is uninspiring trepidation, when one's soul feels enflamed, when one's brain proves a terrible trickster. As such, what does anything matter in the vast configuration of existence, if the sun is destined to fizzle, if one's aspirations and struggles become indivisible under the glare of incensed intensity?

The lyrics (as sung with hypnotic appeal by Ferentino) are inarguably heavy, but Love in Reverse's upright, instrumental swing resists its conspicuous dread. The song's melancholia pushes it toward a survivalist slant, questioning the necessity of heartbreak by hammering the hell out of it. 

"This Heavy Feeling" now occupies the core of my psyche, and I thank Love in Reverse for gifting it. Listen to this empathetic anthem ... and feel the weight lift:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MyB-uUE4ac

LOVE IN REVERSE: ASSHOLES & ASTRONAUTS

The legendary Love In Reverse hits the high note once again, with a groove that moves both the plebian heart and the downtrodden spirit, with a new single from the band's upcoming, Dada Drumming album, Fake It. 

The single is called "Assholes and Astronauts", and thanks to members Michael Ferentino, Andres Karu and Dave Halpern, it delivers a sweeping everyman's vantage that covers life's ups and downs, packaged within the sweetest of melodies. 

To elaborate further, "Assholes and Astronauts" speaks of loneliness and uselessness, of that ageless need to break from the allegorical cold, to peer beyond the drab confines in order to feel significant and whole: a musical emblem for most anyone who roams this arduous earth.

The video is pretty perceptible, too, and spotlights the guys doing their masterful thing, with effective, common imagery strewn in. Trust me, you'll dig the artistic juxtaposing in a major way.

Tap into the latest, Love In Reverse sensation at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHBYthnnRbc

LOVE IN REVERSE: MANIFESTO'S B-SIDE, INTO THE HOLLOW

I was just treated to Love In Reverse's "Into the Hollow", the flip side to the band's amazing single, "Manifesto" (see March 4 post), as released via Dada Drumming. 

"Into the Hollow" churns the same, ironic charm as "Manifesto", being simultaneously melodious and rebellious. However, "Into the Hollow" is a tad more subdued in its sequestered promises, creating a lullaby path into which one can both hibernate and rejuvenate against the slings and arrows one has endured. 

Michael Ferentino's vocals are tranquilizing, his lyrics pure poetry. (The combination bounces with a contagious rhythm and rhyme.) And the background sweep, as accompanied by the awesome Andres Karu and Dave Halpern, sedates as only a religious experience might. 

"Into the Hollow" will leave one fulfilled with its compassionate, spiraling draw, so be wise and give this inspired work a listen (in addition, of course, to the masterful "Manifesto") at  

https://loveinreverse.bandcamp.com/album/manifesto-single

(BTW: If these Love In Reverse tracks are an indication of what the band's next album will be like, an uncontestable classic awaits!)

   

LOVE IN REVERSE'S MANIFESTO: A REVOLUTIONARY SINGLE

The empathetic Love In Reverse has returned with an enticing teaser of a single (released from Dada Drumming) called "Manifesto".

It's a strumming, sublime sojourn from all audio angles; and for me, it arrived at the perfect time: one of woe. 

The cause of my woe is of no consequence here. It's only important to say that "Manifesto" empowered me to the point that my trepidations disappeared. In fact, Michael Ferentino's melodious voice inspired me to revolt against any lopsided rift, though all through sweet, ironic calmness. On this basis, Ferentino's guiding lyrics, accompanied by Love In Reverse's sweeping orchestration (Andres Karu and Dave Halpern deserve much credit in this respect), made me at once Desmond T. Doss and Gandhi: a delightful against-the-odds combination. (The single's superb video only seals the serene effect, painting a soothing travelogue for untangling life's inevitable fights, betrayals and heartbreaks.) 

Regardless of my intrinsic take, one could just as well say "Manifesto" reflects a current, world event or view, insinuating the sadness and fear caused by invasion and tear-drenched conflict. It's all up to the listener to determine, but no matter how one pigeonholes it, "Manifesto" is perfect for mending any distraught attitude. Heck, would one expect anything less from the enlightened Love In Reverse?

Listen and view this gentle, artistic rebellion at 

https://outburn.com/all-features/love-in-reverse-manifesto/

LOVE IN REVERSE: I'M AN ILLUSION

Love in Reverse is an impressive group: unique, acclaimed and sadly underrated. However, those with outstanding taste have often revisited the New Jersey-founded band's material over the decades. Those same fans now have reason to rejoice, for Love in Reverse has released a long anticipated album entitled I'm an Illusion, which is certain to please all its faithful followers, while luring a whole, new army of admirers. 

As with Love in Reverse's past sojourns, Michael Ferentino's vocals are as smooth as silk. He's also reunited with the invigorating sounds of the super-talented Andres Karu and David Halpern. The results are nothing short of spiritual. 

In fact, I'm an Illusion's content is so so heavenly, so sublime that it's impossible to pick a favorite track. Each gem seems to bounce to any given mood, though "Blood Donor" might be the real pulse behind it all, requesting the need to give unconditionally, whether for love or cause; though if this is the case, then the album's existential, title track is its veritable plasma, binding the variables to ensure that everything comes out just right. (BTW, the  contagious groove of either entry would suit any 007 and/or "Mission: Impossible", opening-credit sequence. They truly do spurt that much soul-soaring spunk.) 

"Glam of God" furthers the driving swagger, even if with a sprinkle of Haxan hypocrisy tucked beneath. Within its big, banging beat and empathetic lyrics, one might foresee something shiny, ethereal and colossal stomping by, but at day's end it's only plebeian inside, for in any simple, basic human heart resides that one real, fetching God: that truthful core beyond the glitz that helps one grow.

This charitable advocacy also prevails in reverse (tee-hee), per the swaying "No Way This Time", in which one is told to go one way, but damn well travels the other. "Adultery" matches its sardonic sting, perhaps not so much in tint, but certainly in its treacherous (though catchy) lament (a kind of Moody Blues-does-guilt, if one will), while "Something's Up" symbolizes a haunting, hiccuped suspicion as one drives through the eternal streets of envisioned betrayal. 

Other tracks are just as penetrating, with "Bella Baby'"s ass-kicking rifts and shifts saluting a Pied Piper soul that's wise, gentle and strong. "Waydown/Burn it Down", on the other hand, is its New Wave, Marty Stuart antithesis, invoking a spiraling, Middle Eastern plunge into places that one has no choice but to accept or reject, depending on where one lands. 

"Arrived", the marvelous, punctuating track, is an accomplished, futuristic, backward hello: a song that marks the end and start to all that one has (for better or worse) experienced. Its vibrations are pensive, draining, fulfilling and personify Love and Reverse's defiant endurance throughout the years.

With this said, Love in Reverse has never been part of the mainstream scene, even as it's existed within that lofty niche. In other words, there's always been a rebellious and uncommon quality to the group's impassioned intent. I'm an Illusion is no exception to that long-standing rule: a cathartic masterpiece and beyond any speck of debate, the best return sojourn in decades by any proven group.

Swing in at 

https://loveinreverse.bandcamp.com/album/im-an-illusion