Lene Lovich
Issue #25
Shadows and Dust (The Stereo Society)
By Charlotte Robinson
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 4:31pm
The Detroit-born, Britain-bred Lene Lovich rode high on the crest of new wave in the early '80s, scoring the hit "Lucky Number," and releasing three albums on Stiff Records. After her initial run, Lovich largely disappeared, reemerging briefly for a Nina Hagen duet in 1986 and an album four years later.
Now in her mid-50s, Lovich is back with her first solo album in 15 years. Working with longtime collaborator Les Chappell and producer Mike Thorne (Wire, Soft Cell), Lovich has created an album with an updated sound and a darker edge. She's still in fine voice, but eschews the poppy new wave sound of her classic debut, Stateless, in favor of industrial-influenced keyboards that sound more like they belong in the early ’90s than 2005. That's less a criticism than an observation, and these somewhat goth, vaguely Siouxsie-like songs work well with Lovich's vocal range.
Lovich's flair for drama works particularly well on two tales of lost love. On "Remember" she sings, "We agreed to dissolve, disappear, to risk all for the sake of love / I only know you didn't show." On "Little Rivers" she laments, "Well maybe you're right / What's dead deserved to die / But somehow we should have tried / Tried to believe in life." On "Wicked Witch," she glides along with manic glee, pausing only for a few evil laughs.
Full of titles like "Ghost Story," "Gothica," and "Insect Eaters,"
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Lene Lovich's official Web site
Lene Lovish's Myspace page
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