Home > Articles > Music journalism > Inspirals > Lovers review

Making Music, 1997

The Lovers: gig review

Tom Hingley's new band caught live in 1997

Now the Inspiral Carpets have unravelled, singer Tom Hingley has a new band. The Lovers explore the darker side of passion: the obsession, the pain and the danger. But this is not goth. This is pop, sung with agonising intensity and rage. It's the kind of tune you awake humming, but feel like shouting. Hear a song like 'Isolation Tank' once, and you'll remember the chorus for weeks.

The Lovers: This is how it feels...

More photos from this set

Although the songs are co-written by Jerry Kelly, formerly of the Lotus Eaters, on stage The Lovers is a three-piece, with Paul Kehoe on drums, Chris Livesey on bass and Hingley on guitar/vocals. Debut single 'Work, Rest and Play' is a rap with an excitable bass line yapping at its sinister lyrics about prostitution. The use of loops together with live drums makes for a sparse but punchy rhythm. 'Clear' grinds from the mellow opening to a guitar crunching chorus, with the vocals pleadingly soulful. At times Hingley sings so loud it looks like his head might explode. It really does.

The sound is still evolving from gig to gig, with the arrangements fluid enough to allow the band to improvise around each song. At their centre, though, is strong songwriting for its own sake and a performance that makes you feel each song means the world to the band.

Credits

© Sean McManus. All rights reserved.

Visit www.sean.co.uk for free chapters from Sean's coding books (including Mission Python, Scratch Programming in Easy Steps and Coder Academy) and more!

Discover my latest books

Coding Compendium

Coding Compendium

A free 100-page ebook collecting my projects and tutorials for Raspberry Pi, micro:bit, Scratch and Python. Simply join my newsletter to download it.

Web Design in Easy Steps

Web Design IES

Web Design in Easy Steps, now in its 7th Edition, shows you how to make effective websites that work on any device.

100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel

100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel

Power up your Microsoft Excel skills with this powerful pocket-sized book of tips that will save you time and help you learn more from your spreadsheets.

Scratch Programming in Easy Steps

Scratch Programming IES

This book, now fully updated for Scratch 3, will take you from the basics of the Scratch language into the depths of its more advanced features. A great way to start programming.

Mission Python book

Mission Python

Code a space adventure game in this Python programming book published by No Starch Press.

Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps book

Cool Scratch Projects in Easy Steps

Discover how to make 3D games, create mazes, build a drum machine, make a game with cartoon animals and more!

Walking astronaut from Mission Python book Top | Search | Help | Privacy | Access Keys | Contact me
Home | Newsletter | Blog | Copywriting Services | Books | Free book chapters | Articles | Music | Photos | Games | Shop | About