I was first alerted to lovelytheband after continually hearing their single “Broken” on the radio. You might recognize it, too. It’s a really great song! Highly recommend you check it out if you haven’t already. Since I loved it so much, I decided to try out their debut album “Finding It Hard to Smile” which just came out a week or two ago. Here are my thoughts!
Alright, so on first glance, this seems like a pretty long album for a debut, but of course the solidified opinion on this feature will depend on whether or not I like the music. Obviously. But, it’s also pretty typical for an alternative band.
After the listen: The album was a little too long. I think it would have been a much more solid effort if they’d cut it down just a tad. The interlude tracks (including the title track) were unnecessary and could easily have been cut. That’s two out of the first half of the album of 16 songs. The rest of the first half wasn’t particularly solid either, apart from “Broken”. They weren’t bad by any means, but they weren’t anything spectacular. The second half, on the other hand, was some really strong material. There were good lyrics, good beats, and good sound memories, we’ll say. That basically means that the songs reminded me of other songs that I liked. Some people might say that’s a bad thing, but I think it’s a good quality to have, especially on a debut album. It allows your audience to connect with you on a level that they weren’t maybe expecting. And the comparisons are rather subtle — if you read my track by track reactions, you’ll see I had a hard time pinning down what exactly I was reminded of.
That being said, I would recommend lovelytheband to fans of Fitz & the Tantrums, Magic Giant, and American Authors. You’ll find the upbeat rhythms and echoey vocals of songs like “Handclap” and “Fools Gold” alongside the infectious hooks similar to “Go Big or Go Home”.
Overall, I’d say this is a pretty solid debut effort from lovelytheband. I definitely really enjoyed a majority of the songs, and I’m interested to see if they’ll have any other big singles that get radio play. I will be continuing to listen to the album, so my initial thoughts are certainly subject to change (mainly about which songs are the best). I’m excited to see what they’ll produce on future projects! It’ll definitely be an auto-add to my music library at this point.
Must Listen Tracks: Broken, Your Whatever, Walk From Here, I Like the Way
Below you’ll find my track by track reactions and thoughts on each song off the album after my first listen:
Track 1: Finding It Hard to Smile
Well, this was a disappointing start. Basically just an “interlude” (to use the industry slang), and like most interludes, I found it completely pointless. Especially as a means of starting a debut album. On the first track, I want a song that gets me excited about the rest of the album, at least as much as the debut single (“Broken”). Unfortunately, I didn’t get that, and now I’m worried about the quality of the rest of the album.
Track 2: Pity Party
Decent song, good beat. The kind of song that gets better with more listens. I still found it rather disappointing for the first real song on the album, though.
Track 3: Make You Feel Pretty
I liked this one. It was fun and had a great beat – would have been a much better choice for an opener, in my opinion.
Track 4: Broken
Runaway favorite right here! To be fair, I have heard it more since it is the lead single. BUT, it totally deserves it. It’s just a higher quality song. Sort of gives me vibes of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” but better.
Track 5: Alone Time
I enjoyed the verses better than the chorus on this one oops.
Track 6: These Are My Friends
Very catchy song with a pretty basic chorus, but one that definitely has anthemic potential.
Track 7: Coachella
I could totally see this as the soundtrack to a Coachella slideshow of hipster pictures. Good song, though I don’t think it would age well because of the Coachella reference. It’s definitely counting on the name for listens. But I must admit, I do quite like it.
Track 8: Filling a Void (interlude)
This interlude actually has vocals! But seriously this trend needs to die. Give me real songs please and thank you. Interludes are a waste of time and space.
Track 9: Your Whatever
I actually love this one! It’s a different sound from the first 8 tracks, but in a very very good way. It just has that perfect mix of lyrics and sound and I’m loving it.
Track 10: Maybe, I’m Afraid
Big American Author vibes on this one. I’m loving this one too.
Track 11: Emotion
Super catchy and another favorite. The second half of the album is definitely looking up.
Track 12: Walk From Here
This reminds me of another popular song right now and I can’t place it ugh! But this is such a good song — I’m loving the lyrics and the beat here. OH! It reminds me of “High Horse” by Kacey Musgraves. I think…
Track 13: Stupid Mistakes
Another solid addition to the album. Pretty relatable lyrics, especially when you’ve been making a lot of stupid mistakes 🙂
Track 14: Make Believe
This has some really clever lyrics that are total digs and I love it. “You spell rent P-A-R-E-N-T-S” and “You spell love F-R-I-E-N-D-S” are SO GOOD!
Track 15: I Like the Way
This song speaks to the part of me that loves boy bands. Now don’t go running! This is the best of boy bands for sure.
Track 16: Everything I Could Never Say…to You
For some reason, this reminds me of something Taylor Swift would write, especially in her more recent pop-centered sound. It’s good, don’t get me wrong here, but I think it’s an odd choice to end the album on. It’s the longest song on the whole album by about a whole minute and it shows. But it is a better end than a beginning.
Mind of a Muse 
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