Brooklyn based Danny L’Amour recently released ‘Love Is Drugs + Love Is War’, his debut solo LP via Rat Tooth Records (the third album release for the label). The LP was executively produced by fellow New York indie artist Subway Rat, and mixed and mastered at Lounge Studios in Times Square. The indie rock LP will immediately strike you as notable from the very first track ‘Sick & Tired’. L’Amour uses his voice like an instrument, with a breezy carefree intentionality that makes it a pleasure to listen to. Emotive and vibrant with a pulsating aura that belies the failing relationship detailed within, ‘Sick & Tired’ is an energetic starting point for the rest of the album, as it’s the sort of track you instantly add to a playlist for future repeated listening. While the majority of the album fits into the indie rock genre box, there’s whispers of other influences such as hip hop, r&b, and pop. Most of all it’s twinged with East Coast vibes through and through, which seems to be the prevailing ethos of Rat Tooth Records’ releases. Both ‘Love in the Backseat’ and ‘I Can’t Help It’ are the owners of catchy hooks, but ‘Don’t Hold Back’ takes the award for ease of singing-along-ability, if you’re not yet finding yourself echoing along in parts you obviously need to play it another time. ‘You Made Me Hate L.A.’ will have you empathizing with the lyrics, regardless of place names, as L’Amour is able to effuse unrestrained in a raw relatable way. Single ‘Sunglasses‘ (Adore You) features aforementioned labelmate and producer Subway Rat, and is another standout. Twisting the standard indie rock piece around with theatrical and angelic vocals from both, it’s refreshingly diverse, and possibly the start of something genuinely new and not derivative – which is a rare find in this day and age. ‘Silhouette‘’s progression is much like Kansas’ ‘Dust In The Wind’ giving it a nostalgic underbelly. The love song is dripping in sweetness, yet still contains the rawness of other tracks, taking the yearning to another level. Finally, ‘Never Come Back’ is emo pop stripped of any emo cliche, and will be easy to lose yourself in at the end of a gig.
Truthfully, there isn’t a single track that doesn’t seem to captivate. ‘Love Is Drugs + Love Is War’ is highly accessible and recommended for fans of The Strokes, Mac DeMarco, Cage The Elephant, and of course the East Coast indie scene.
Sarah Medeiros