Tag: Burn the Louvre

BURN THE LOUVRE – Album Review: “Silhouettes”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews9 Comments

Burn The Louvre are a Canadian indie rock duo based in Hamilton, Ontario, and consisting of Jordan Speare (vocals, guitar, ukulele, drums & percussion) and Sean Cooper (guitar/vocals). I first featured them on this blog this past April, when I included one of their songs “Driving in the Rain” in a Fresh New Tracks post. I provided some background about how the act began as a duo consisting of Jordan and his brother Dylan, and released two EPs in 2014 and 2017, But by 2018, Burn the Louvre became Jordan’s solo project, at which time he began work on a full-length album Silhouettes with the help of his friend Andrew Billone, of indie rock band Silvertone Hills, on lead guitar and bass. The album was recorded, mixed & mastered by engineer/producer Mickey Ellsworth, who also played synthesizers and additional percussion, and sang backing vocals.

Rather serendipitously, after he and Mickey finished recording Silhouettes in late 2018, Jordan received an email from guitarist Sean Cooper, in response to an old “musicians wanted” ad he’d forgotten to take down. The two immediately hit it off, and began jamming together on the already-recorded songs. Jordan recalls “The way he was able to come up with his own unique leads to songs that were already recorded, giving them different nuances while maintaining the vibe of each song…I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad practice. I felt this was a perfect opportunity to re-imagine Burn The Louvre as a duo and I am very happy he wanted to be a part of this.”

Photo of Jordan and Sean by iamnenkan

In early 2022, they decided to finally release Silhouettes, initially as 11 separate singles at the rate of one song per month over a period of 11 months, beginning in January with “Wish We Were”. They ended with “Honolulu”, which dropped simultaneously with the full album on November 29th. The songs, all of which were written by Jordan, explore the emotional minefield of young romantic love and relationships with extensive, relatable lyrics, delivered in his laid-back conversational singing style, and accompanied by catchy melodies and fine guitar work. Burn the Louvre’s music style is hard to classify, but can best be described as a pleasing and eclectic blend of punk, pop, rock’n’roll, singer-songwriter and folk.

The title track “Silhouettes” is one of more melodically interesting, starting off with an energetically-strummed folk guitar that’s soon joined by a tasty bass groove. The song seems to end at around 1:46 minutes, then starts up again and continues for 30 seconds until it seems to end yet again, only to start back up at a slightly slower pace. Jordan has an interesting sing-song vocal style, with an offbeat sensual drawl that’s quite endearing. Here he emphatically croons the lyrics about a doomed love affair: “Silhouettes in the yellow moon. Fell a little too hard and they split in two. Raw, a little out of tune. Beautiful and broken, but try not to swoon. Oh you…was disinterested until I heard her say ‘So nice to finally meet you’. Autumn eyes and sweet perfume. My heart might’ve skipped just a beat or two. That little black dress and those ruby shoes. Okay…was all that I could say. I sense there’s heartache on the way.“

On “Wish We Were“, Jordan wistfully sings of a simpler, more innocent time when he was younger and things didn’t seem so heavy and problematic: “Well sometimes, I wish that we were younger. Turn nineteen in the early summer, with nothing but blue skies and moonshine spilling outside on a Wednesday night. Alone in the dark, such a beautiful sight. If only sometimes. But if we’d met before. Would you still be knocking on my door if you lived down the street? Would you just want to be friends with me? I’m wishing I could have the time back that I borrowed. Yesterdays are overrated, show me the tomorrows.” I love the song’s upbeat bouncy groove and jangly guitars.

On the lovely ballad “Driving In The Rain”, Jordan sings of driving through a rainstorm to see his girlfriend, with whom he has a troubled relationship: “I’m 15 minutes out, the sky is darker than her hair. And all Beck’s “Modern Guilt” has got me way too self-aware. The weather’s getting worse, man it’s really coming down. It’s just the second verse, but I think I’m gunna drown. Conventional conversation is ringing in my ears. I want to kiss her in the rain, so I can’t see the tears.” And “Lost With You” has a retro early 60s “malt shop” vibe, with a fun rockabilly quality in the guitars.

One of my favorites is “Nice Guy“, a lively post-punk rocker that has Jordan lamenting about how his good manners seem to go unappreciated by a girl he likes: “Really think that you don’t like me. Well, I’m sorry if I’m just too polite. Really wish that I could be an asshole. Blame my Mum, she’s the one who raised me right. But I’m sick of being the nice guy. I’ll give you my coat when it’s cold outside. Yeah, I’m so sick of always being the nice guy. It’s a phase I still haven’t got over, I’ll try, yeah I’ll try.”

His clever songwriting is strongly evident on “Easy“, a song about how love and relationships could be easy and stress-free, but we often have a way of over-complicating things: “Well, it could all just be so easy. Uncomplicated, apparent, simple too. It could all just be so easy. I’m so easy, yeah but so are you. Open my mouth, make a fool of myself. Could almost hear her falling back in love with someone else. You’re my last cigarette, it’s too bad for my health. Your love is cancerous and I’m just trying to kill myself.” The jangly and shimmery guitar work is terrific, accompanied by nice bass groove and subtle keyboards and percussion.

“Dumb” is a rousing rock’n’roll gem, with twangy guitars and a catchy, toe-tapping beat. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics speak of wishing his ex-girlfriend ill: “I’d rather see you under the sea than see those big green eyes staring back at me. I’ll give your best to your new boyfriend, and let him know that he won’t ever see your face again“, but then admitting his threats were meant in jest: “I’d never hurt you, honestly. I’d never hurt you purposely, You’re lucky I’m not as dumb as I thought I was.” And on the sweet jangle pop song “Hey Stacey“, he sings of how he loves and misses her: “Hey Stacey, is there something wrong? You know I’d do my very best to make it right. I really thought that you might like this song. It’s kinda dumb, but it’s the best I’ve got tonight./ Trying so hard not to blow it. But has anybody ever told you you’re beautiful, but you don’t even know it?“

“Alison” is another sweet tune, this time with a bit of a doo wop vibe and featuring added vocals by Stephanie Deshane. The poignant lyrics speak of two wounded souls, seeking a bit of love and solace in each other’s arms, even if only for a night: “And Alison, you know I’ve been struggling trying to put my life together. She laughs and says, ‘mine’s not much better’. But Alison, I want to thank you for listening. Now, she’s not likely to stay, but I know I won’t soon forget her.”

The final track “Honolulu” is a deeply personal one for Jordan. He explains: “‘Honolulu” is a song I wrote for my first girlfriend Gillian for her birthday. We’d always joked about running away to Honolulu one day, so I wrote this song about the idea of doing just that. To be honest, I really wasn’t the best boyfriend, but I did some things right and this song is definitely one of them. After opening the album with ‘Silhouettes’, which is a song about the aftermath of our relationship from my perspective, I felt it was fitting to close the album with ‘Honolulu’, a song about when times were great.” Appropriately, the song opens with a Hawaiian ukulele riff, accompanied by subtle bass notes. Halfway into the track, the tempo ramps up to a jaunty, head-bopping groove, with a strummed guitar joining the ukulele and bass while Jordan croons “Well I can’t say, I’ve felt this way before. My heart is on fire, yeah. It’s not a holiday, this is a getaway. Gill, hop on the plane and we’ll leave right now for Honolulu… feels so far away.”

Silhouettes is an enjoyable album from start to finish, filled with charming songs dealing with the ins and outs of love in a lighthearted, realistic way. Jordan and Andrew’s guitar work is terrific throughout, and the songs are all expertly-crafted and engineered, giving the album an outstanding quality of sound. Nice work guys!

Connect with Burn the Louvre:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Stream their music on Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

Purchase on Bandcamp

Fresh New Tracks, Vol. 16 – Burn the Louvre, The Petal Falls, Soda Cracker Jesus

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews8 Comments

It’s been three weeks since my last Fresh New Tracks post, so I’m long overdue for a new one. For my 16th installment in this series, I’ve chosen three wonderful new songs by (in alphabetical order) Canadian indie rock duo Burn the Louvre, British rock artist The Petal Falls, and Tacoma, Washington-based psychedelic pop-rock artist Soda Cracker Jesus. So, without further ado…

BURN THE LOUVRE – “Driving In The Rain”

Burn The Louvre are a Canadian indie rock duo based in Hamilton, Ontario, and comprised of Jordan Speare (vocals/guitar) and Sean Cooper (guitar/vocals), although the act originally began as a duo consisting of Jordan and his brother Dylan. From what I can tell, they first released Post-Romance EP in late 2014, then followed in 2017 with a second EP We’ll Be Just Fine. By 2018, Burn the Louvre became Jordan’s solo project, at which time he began work on a full-length album Silhouettes with the help of his friend Andrew Billone, of indie rock band Silvertone Hills, on lead guitar and bass. The album was recorded, mixed & mastered by engineer/producer Mickey Ellsworth, and is finally being released in 2022 as 11 separate singles, at the rate of one song per month over a period of 11 months. “Driving In The Rain“, which dropped April 26th, is the fourth single to be released.

Rather serendipitously, after he and Mickey finished recording Silhouettes in late 2018, Jordan received an email from guitarist Sean Cooper, in response to an old “musicians wanted” ad he’d forgotten to take down. The two immediately hit it off, and began jamming together on the already-recorded songs. Jordan recalls “The way he was able to come up with his own unique leads to songs that were already recorded, giving them different nuances while maintaining the vibe of each song…I mean, I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad practice. I felt this was a perfect opportunity to re-imagine Burn The Louvre as a duo and I am very happy he wanted to be a part of this.”

“Driving In The Rain” has a pleasing folk-rock vibe, driven by a colorful blend of twangy and jangly guitars, accompanied by subtle bass and percussion that allow the wonderful guitars to shine. Jordan’s vocals have an endearing singer-songwriter quality that work to great effect as he sings the lyrics describing a man driving through a rainstorm to see his girlfriend, with whom he has a troubled relationship: “I’m 15 minutes out, the sky is darker than her hair. And all Beck’s “Modern Guilt” has got me way too self-aware. The weather’s getting worse, man it’s really coming down. It’s just the second verse, but I think I’m gunna drown. Conventional conversation is ringing in my ears. I want to kiss her in the rain, so I can’t see the tears. Seven hundred fourteen thousand, she’s the only voice I hear. I’d call her just to listen if I didn’t have to steer.” It’s a fine song, as are the three previously-released tracks “Wish We Were”, “Nice Guy” and “Alison”, giving us a good indication that Silhouettes promises to be a winner.

Connect with Burn the Louvre:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

THE PETAL FALLS – “Somebody To Love Me”

Last August, I first wrote about British rock act The Petal Falls, the music project of Kent-based singer-songwriter Keith Leahy, when I reviewed his single “I Won’t Be There” (read the review here). To briefly reiterate some of what I previously detailed about The Petal Falls’ unfortunate history, Leahy formed the band in the mid 1990s as a performance platform for his music. Consisting of Leahy, who sings vocals as well as plays guitar and keyboards, and four other musicians: Robert Harpum (guitar), Dave Richards (guitar), Marius Ryndziewicz (bass) and Robin Tucker (drums), they signed with a mid-tier music label in the hopes it would lead to greater success, but it instead resulted in their ultimate undoing. The label stifled their creativity and stalled their career for several years, leading to a great deal of frustration among band members and their eventual demise, without ever being given the opportunity to publicly release any of their prodigious output of songs.

Thankfully, a few years ago their music catalog once again became available for release, and Keith jumped at the opportunity to re-master the original The Petal Falls recordings into four albums, with help of his friend and producer/engineer/drummer John King. The first of those albums, Workin All Night Workin All Day, was released in July 2020 to positive fan and critical response, an amazing feat for an act that had long been given up for dead. The album’s success inspired Keith to resurrect The Petal Falls as a solo project, recording and releasing new music in collaboration with King. They followed with a second album All These Years in September 2021, and are now planning to release a third album Everything About You this coming September. The first single from that forthcoming album, “Somebody To Love Me“, was released April 29th. 

The song is a rousing upbeat stomper, with a hard-driving heartland rock groove that calls to mind some of the great mid-80s music of John Mellencamp. The lively guitar work is terrific, accompanied by sparkling keyboards and supported by a powerful rhythm section that keeps the song’s energy going full throttle. With his commanding vocal style, Leahy sings of his strong desire for a woman to call his own, wondering why he can’t seem to attract one: “I bought a new suit, shirt and tie. My hair wet down looking sharp through and high. Thought I’d impress with a twinkle in my eye. One look at me, she said ‘baby, bye bye’. I can’t pretend I understand what makes a woman love a man. I’ve seen your love in the face of a stranger. It seems to me, some girls are real dangerous. Am I a fool to think this way? I can’t be a loser every day. I need somebody, somebody, somebody to love me, yeah.”

Connect with The Petal Falls: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

SODA CRACKER JESUS – “Hoping For The Best”

Soda Cracker Jesus is the solo music project of the wildly imaginative, enormously talented and flamboyant singer-songwriter and producer Regan Lane. Based in Tacoma, Washington, Regan has been actively involved in the Pacific Northwest music scene for nearly 40 years, with his hands in many projects, including serving as front man and ringmaster for psychedelic punk-rock band Strangely Alright. He’s also been honest and candid on his social media about his former struggles with alcohol and substance abuse, and the happiness and joy that sobriety now brings him. With an unwavering sense of optimism, he creates music that looks to the future, but also understands the power of the past, and that duality helps shape his unique and signature sound. 

I’ve featured both Strangely Alright and Soda Cracker Jesus on this blog numerous times over the past three or so years, most recently last October when I reviewed his wonderful single “Kaleidoscope”, a heartwarming song inspired by the memory of his late father. Now he’s back with “Hoping For The Best“, his fifth single under the Soda Cracker Jesus moniker.

Ever the optimist, Regan says the song is about “finding one’s way, the sadness that hits sometimes, and trying to see a glass that’s half full”, expressed by the refrain “I don’t know why I’m sad. Hoping for the Best.” Musically, the song is an exuberant power-pop banger, infused with generous helpings of punk and psychedelia. Over a heavy stomping groove, Regan layers fuzz-coated gnarly riffs, spacey synths, and lots of crashing cymbals to create a high-energy psychedelic backdrop for his reverby vocals that sound like a cross between 1970s John Lennon and David Bowie. “Hoping For The Best” is another outstanding entry in an unbroken string of superb singles.

Connect with Soda Cracker Jesus:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram