The Love Language

It's unclear what the Love Language are trying to achieve on their debut album. The North Carolina group are the brainchild of Stuart McLamb, who wrote and recorded these nine tracks in response to an invitation to open for the Rosebuds. The songs balance lo-fi folk and indie pop using McLamb's hazy, double-tracked vocals as the glue. But they are victims of their origins, the band's sound having been crafted before the actual songs. Save "Sparxxx," there's nothing memorable here, a problem compounded by McLamb's insistence on burying the whole thing under fuzzy distortion. That's not to say the Love Language should be written off completely. It's clear from these tracks that McLamb is a talented songwriter and hopefully next record he'll take a little more time to create a focused work.