Album Review by EDF
Arriving on a wave of acoustic guitars and rough harmonies, this UK five piece will remind people of what groups used to sound like. Coming across as a group with a kind of musical link to Crowded House, catchy lyrics and hooks are the elements that make Mr Love & Justice stand out from other well-established bands.
The opening WELCOME TO OUR GARDEN is a sarcastic look at all things that is great about the English weather and countryside, amongst other things that can be found in “our garden of hate”. Even though IDEAL MEAL has a catchy chorus, the organic sentiments in the song come across as pure mother earth propaganda, “when you reap all that you sow, you only eat what you can grow”. I think we can assume that the song is not about supermarkets and fast food. We are then treated with beautiful images of running through the grass and flax on WHEATSHEAF and the hometown sentiments of WISH HOUND.
The difference of opinion between two people expressed in THE ROAD changes the mood of the album, proving that the group have the ability to change their sound. The near instrumental TUMBLEWEED features the repetitive line “I do that too”, giving the song a strange mystic mystery to what it might be about. WATCHING WATER is a slow melancholy acoustic track, which the group should produce more of. HIDE & SEEK is like an answer to The Beatles ‘Hello Goodbye’, making this a fine way to close the album.
One of the noticeable things is that the vocals could have been a little bit louder in the mix, causing the album to have a lack of warmth that the songs so richly deserve. The guitar intro at the start of THE ANSWER is a more distinct sound compared to some of the other tracks, making this track one of the highlights on an album that has a lot to offer. Even though the musicianship is not in question, the lack of vocal punch makes this album sound, at times, like a demo.
