lovelytheband’s Mitchy Collins, Jordan Greenwald, and Sam Price revisit old sounds and introduce new ones in their self-titled fourth studio album.
Stream: ‘lovelytheband’ – lovelytheband
Throughout life, there are moments where we are presented with the opportunity to ponder upon our own escapades.
In these moments, life itself hands us the looking glass to take a closer look – and it is within these moments that life forces us to question it. Where have I been? Where would I like to go? Am I happy? Who am I really? – all these questions tend to spew within one’s mind during those close glimpses. These questions we ask are vital because they tend to help us better understand ourselves. They help us process and reflect upon pivotal moments that have shaped us into the human beings we are today, while looking forward into what we still want to become and accomplish. It gives us the courage to find and know ourselves. So when the time comes to stand in front of someone, introduce yourself and say, “This is me…” you know, with confidence, exactly who you are.
Alt-pop trio lovelytheband do just that within their new self-titled fourth studio album. Out August 23 via happy accident records / Vydia, lovelytheband explores all they have been through, where they are now, and the possibilities of the band’s future.
“It’s a big one,” lovelytheband’s vocalist Mitchy Collins tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s our fourth album. I can’t believe we’re on our fourth album. It feels like yesterday when the band started. This album is a good compilation of lovely as a whole, and shows some growth. We went back to the core of lovely and some older sounds. But as with every new album, it’s my favorite one. We hope everyone else feels the same.”
lovelytheband burst onto the scene in 2018 with their debut album finding it hard to smile. Their single “broken” off that record not only took over every radio station and playlist known to man, but also spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Alternative charts. It previously held the record for the longest running chart entry for 76 weeks. This past year, Billboard ranked “broken” as the second most successful song in the Alternative chart’s history. With now over 500 million streams, “broken” was just the beginning of what was to come from lovelytheband.
Since finding it hard to smile, lovelytheband have put out two additional albums; their third LP, if we’re being honest, released last summer. Reflecting on the turnaround time between LPs 3 and 4, they’re quick to admit their own surprise; they did not think they would have another record out so fast.
“Some of these songs were made over the course of the last four years. Some were made in the last couple months. I think we just kind of accidentally fell into the self-titled album because we were in this flow. A couple of songs were written in Vegas, a couple songs were written years ago. It’s just like our record label’s called, a happy accident,” Collins says.
Featuring 12 tracks, lovelytheband articulates every possible human emotion. There are themes of love, yet also heartache. There are thoughts on the present, but a nostalgia for the past and a hope for the future. While you may want to dance around your kitchen to some tracks, others hit you right in the heart and beg for you to listen – even just for a moment.
“On our first album, I never set any goals for myself or anything of the sort,” Collins explains. “We were really blessed to have it be so successful, but I’ve learned that when you don’t set goals, you’re constantly just let down. Mike Posner said this and I really resonated with it, I have to remind myself that my reward for calling music my job is finishing the song. Everything else is out of my hands. Once the album’s out or a song’s out, I wash my hands with it. I’ve done my job. I’ve done all I can do. Now it’s up to the universe and the people. I’m excited to get it out.”
The album opens with “ltb,” a gorgeous instrumental that pierces the soul and chills the bones. As the album rolls into the next song, “what have i been missing,” listeners are already hooked. The upbeat and synthy alternative track “nice to know you” set the tone for the album, per Collins. Further songs like “try for you” and “day run out” showcase the band’s ability to make each song feel like its own world, crafted in its own unique way.
This shows a lot within sixth track, “dear, my future self.” Bringing in elements from lovelytheband’s past, it is no surprise that this song showcases their evocative lyricism the most. Through a catchy melody, “dear, my future self” makes you wonder about your future self. What would you say to them? What do you think they would say to you? Yet instead of asking these questions or looking for answers, lovelytheband tell their future selves things they hope they are doing, such as getting more sleep and taking more time for themselves. They acknowledge how they may have given their future selves some burdens and how that may be affecting them.
Dear, my future self
I should have made it easy for ya
I could have got some help
It woulda been so nice to know ya
Say hello to everybody where you’re at
I’ll blow all the kisses to the people in your past
Dear my future self
it would have been so nice to know ya
Hope you take some time for yourself
Laugh with your friends
and you check on your health someday
Hope you grab a beer with your mom
Call her now and then
’cause you know she’ll be gone someday
As the album continues, a newer sound of lovelytheband becomes present in songs such as “fake it,” “take me to the moon” and “feel like summer.” With this introduction into a newer sound mixed in with their older aesthetic, every song further and further establishes who they are as artists.
“A big part of this record too, we worked with a couple producers where we were able to be a band, if that makes any sense,” Collins says. “We would jam in the studio, and that’s where I think a lot of the new stuff came from. The older stuff, we revisited on accident. ‘dear, my future self’ I wrote four years ago during COVID. We did it with the producer that did our first album, so I think it felt comfortable to touch on old lovely sounds and concepts. On this record, there’s a taste of what’s to come from us in the future and a little glimpse into the past.”
Sun-soaked in paradise, no clouds, yeah, this the life
You had me dreaming about
No clues, no compromise, cut me some peace of mind
‘Cause I’ve been swimming with doubt
Oh, I’ve found a little place to go,
sugar, we’re all we need
Leave our hearts exposed, this salt tastes sweet
So take me to the moon, show me all the stars
I promised I’d go anywhere, anywhere you are
Said you needed space, I took you to Mars
I promised I’d go anywhere, anywhere you are
But the heart of this album, one could argue, lies within lovelytheband’s more deeper hitting tracks – specifically, within “make it real” and “rock bottom.” While “make it real” touches upon how opening up and addressing life’s tribulations could ultimately lead into making feelings finally feel real, “rock bottom” brings up the hardships of losing oneself.
I don’t deserve love
Do I deserve to hurt so much at night?
Will I ever be enough?
Will I ever feel good about my life?
I could open up and tell you how I feel
But I can’t cause that would make it real
That would make it real
“For me, ‘make it real’ and ‘rock bottom’ were more of a therapy session,” Collins says. “I look at songwriting like I’m an antenna. And it’s like, what am I ready to receive today? What am I ready to put out into the world? So, when I’m making things, I just start singing. I start singing, and then I’ll make a whole song. I’ll listen back later and I’ll be like, ‘Ah, that’s what that’s about.’ It’s been a pattern in my life where I go through some crazy shit, find myself at quote unquote ‘rock bottom,’ but then on the other side of that is some cool music. It’s some kind of fucked up process in my head that I can’t shake. I’m like, ‘Well, I need to go through this turmoil, because if I don’t have that, then I can’t create.’ And I’ve been trying to work through that. But, you know, one day at a time.”
By the time “when your heart remembers” starts to play, lovelytheband have left it all out there. They have given you messages to reflect on and questions to ask yourself. But more importantly, they have left everyone with an album to be thought about repeatedly and played over and over again. Ending on a beautiful ode to a lost love, “when your heart remembers” is the core of lovelytheband and who they are. The track ties back into their initial song “ltb,” bringing the journey full circle.
“When I was making this record with the guys, I would constantly, and I still try to remind myself, to forgive yourself, give yourself some grace,” Collins recalls. “Life is really hard. It’s also beautiful and fun and sad and happy, and everything else in between. So, give yourself some grace and understand that one bad day doesn’t mean a bad life. A bad month doesn’t mean a bad life.”
If you have not gotten a chance to get to know lovelytheband and their artistry yet, this is a perfect chance to join in on the hype.
But if you are already a fan, this immaculate and thought out album will not have you disappointed. lovelytheband’s sound and artistry continue to wow – and their self-titled album may be their best piece of work yet.
“All I can say is that when we hear stories about how our music’s helped people, whatever it may be, that’s all we can ask for,” Collins smiles. “That’s what music did for me and I’m just thankful. We spend so much time, right? Crafting these songs, hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and months and months and months of work to be three minutes of someone’s life. But I remember when someone was three minutes of my life, and it was life changing. So that’s all. Maybe we can do that for someone. I find solace in that.”
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