When the sand starts to diminish in the top half of life’s hourglass there’s a realisation that time is of the essence. Suddenly a more streamlined approach is required; the chipping away of dead wood and a jettison of excess weight, and that’s precisely how California’s Lavalove operate. Although they’re a fairly new band, latest album Tan Lines has the feeling of wise heads on young shoulders and as such the ten tracks comprising their sophomore long player take the most direct line to what the f*ck it’s all about, leaving an indelible mark on the listener like that to which the title pertains.
Indicative of Lavalove’s modus operandi is opening track ‘Hopelessly Devoted’. Sun kissed and fresh off the vine, it’s powered forwards by a restless kind of energy and a self propelling momentum that renders it an unstoppable force. It has an earworm quality that will affix itself to the memory bank, and with an adhesive nature that renders it super sticky and hard to remove. “Love at first sight” is a phrase that immediately springs to mind when encountering this album, and that’s primarily due to Lavalove’s approach to songwriting: they prove themselves the ultimate editors, they don’t use two chords (or notes) when one will suffice and it is this sense of urgency which makes them such an irresistible proposition: it’s a busy world out there, you’ve got to hit people and then move on! There’s a strong focus on the song here, an unashamedly embracing of important stuff like melody and harmony, and that makes ‘Go Go Boots’ such an intriguing proposition, and that fact it says all it has to in 140-seconds increases its charm exponentially.
Imagine Shocking Blue jamming with Blondie after listening to the Ramones’ Rocket To Russia on heavy rotation, then you’d have something approaching the sound contained on Tan Lines. It can often be fast and discordant (‘Messing With The Man’), yet its also tuneful and mellifluous (‘Workin’ On My Way’), and often at the same time. It makes for a timeless sound and one that could have come from any point in the last half-century, or the coming fifty. With a nifty turn of phrase that’s as adept as the music (latest single ‘Sniffin’ Around’ is the perfect repose to Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Used To Love Her’), Tan Lines is not only the perfect album for our times, but for all times.
Departing as they arrived, ‘Shot’ injects a dose of adrenaline into proceedings, and as the band leave smoking speakers in their wake, Tan Lines could well propel Lavalove towards the biggest stages.
- Tan Lines is released via Pure Noise Records on 3rd April 2026.
Track List:
- Hopelessly Devoted
- Motion Picture
- Go Go Boots
- Tan Lines
- Messing With The Man
- Workin’ On My Way
- Never Better
- Sniffin’ Around
- Magic Mushrooms
- Shot
