There’s something very New Romantic about by “Lovebomb” by The Neighbourhood. It could be because the most recurrent guitar riff is reminiscent of Flock of Seagulls ‘Spage Age Love Song.’
There’s production lush enough to create a soundscape as big as the whole outdoors. Vocalist Jesse Rutherfird, an
There’s an echoing remove to lead singer Jesse Rutherford’s vocal delivery. It’s neither primal cream, bratty tirade or emotive crooner. His melancholic melodies are whispered confessions with an understatement that’s a closer descends more closely from Joy Division than New Order, if you get my name-dropping riff.
But then Rutherford’s voice holds hands with the Beach Boys a moment for a moment when he drops an “ooo-ooo-ooo” as well as the mic. As he doubles and trebles his voice to create a wall of sound (or is it a gazebo of sound?), it brings to mind some of Foster the People’s prettier tunes, like “Coming of Age.”
The song’s descriptors cite the neighborhood as being indie pop and alternative. And that’s fair enough. But then there are those minor chords that tell us our protagonists dream union is liable to dissolve like cotton candy. Or should it remain solid, someone will mess it up by playing games so complex they require 12-sided dice.
There are also Imagist lyrics bespeaking an attraction as expansive as the firmament–“Chlorine and pheromones/Fairy dust and Moonstones”– words that might be belted by Siouxsie Sioux or uttered by Jim Reed of the Jesus and Mary Chain.
Which all goes to say that The Neighbourhood also prowls the neighborhood (Sorry about the spelling. I’m American) of darkwave. It’s an outfit suitable for those who like their glitter black and their spangles purple. You know, weirdos like you and me who aren’t afraid to take crayons and paper to the cemetery and make some grave-rubbings.
Lovebomb is off the album (((((ultraSoound))))), the band’s first record in five years. Released in November, it offers credible evidence that 2025 was a year of solid music, even if the tunes were the soundtrack to a year illuminated by dumpster fires both political and economic.
Listen to more songs of the day curated by Sarah Torribio HERE
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