Lovelife
If you haven't caught up with Lush for a while, you may be astonished when you put this on. Songs. Hooks. Choruses. Singing--more or less in tune. Looks like Lush stopped glanced up from gazing at their shoes and saw that there was an audience wanting to be entertained. So they dug out their old new wave albums and got themselves inspired. The opener, "Ladykiller," is just that: a stone killer that sets the lyrical mood for the whole record--relationships gone sour, the way "boys" act, and how women can be strong. Real life or what? Musically, it's as though a picture has just finally come into focus. Lush always denied their poppy side. Here they've given it full rein, and the effect is glorious, catchy as hell, filled with clever arrangements, and only "Last Night" has any kind of spook quotient. Wonderful stuff. The new wave of new wave of new wave? No, just a new lease on life for Lush. Welcome back.--Chris Nickson