Let's Be Friends

Lisa Light and Scott Blonde, the singing and songwriting duo behind the Lovemakers, are often called a San Francisco band, but they hail from Oakland on the funkier, groovier east side of the San Francisco Bay. The band was born when Light and Blonde became lovers, but it has continued on after the demise their romantic involvement. "We can't be lovers and we can't be friends" they sing on "Love Is Dead." It celebrates the end of a relationship with plenty of ironic humor and a big, anthemic chorus. "See What I Wanna See" is a funky Prince-like rap/rock tune with Light's cooing vocals pouring gasoline on the blaze. The tough Bo Diddley-meets-Iggy Pop pulse of "Everybody's Fightin' the Same Damn Fight" advises everyone to grab happiness whenever they can find it, and pummels you into submission with its relentless energy. "This Life Is Over" looks at the end of a relationship without the irony. Light's vocal and Blonde's clanging guitar toll the death knell, and their harmonies are full of undisguised anguish. "Hold Onto Your Heart" takes a dyspeptic look at a new relationship; it's a slow, smoldering rock ballad with Blonde's distressed singing playing off against Light's wailing background vocals. The big, processed sound of "All Together" brings to mind a prog rock version of the B-52's. It's the one song on the album with a glimmer of hope in the lyrics, even as the music delivers its aggressive metallic crunch. Without pressure to be anything but what they are, the Lovemakers have pumped up the energy of their '80s rock ethos and produced another record full of tunes that explore the fragmented lives of post-millennium youth. ~ j. poet, Rovi