The Electric Lovehandles – Back From The Dead

Perhaps The Electric Lovehandles is relatively a new band, but the people involved in this group are experienced musicians with decades spent in the music industry. The group consists of Chris Keaney (principal songwriter, lead vocals, guitar), Ian Graham (backing vocals, bass guitar), and Mark Shilton (backing vocals, drums). Since their formation in 2019, this Manchester, UK-based trio released Inside Number 13 EP, a debut full-length Back From The Dead, Battery City EP, and a single named Blue Sky. Today, I will talk a little bit more about their debut full-length, which the group released in the September of 2020, approximately one year after their formation.

Back From The Dead carries twelve songs about love, friendships, emotions, various characters, events, situations, and circumstances. The group incorporates a nearly personal approach to these themes to express mixed feelings to perfection. Perhaps their music comes close to indie rock and unquestionably includes indie rock maneuvers, but there are even more ingredients involved along this musical journey. Besides the nearly dominant reign of indie rock, you may hear elements of power pop, alternative pop, and post-punk, incredibly mixed into polyphonous harmony. The songwriting skills of Chris Keaney are giving a specific vibe to this material, and each composition resonates in a special way.

There’s something about the music of The Electric Lovehandles that reminds me of something that Bob Mould, Sugar, or Hüsker Dü would eventually record throughout their careers. Nevertheless, The Electric Lovehandles involve more mellow, semi-distorted melodies in their music, so this material goes more towards power pop and indie rock than towards ferociously dynamic punk rock. Don’t get me wrong, Back From The Dead sounds entirely energetic from scratch to finish, but it creates such a different atmosphere comparing to the beforementioned acts. This particular album represents an amalgam of carefully assembled tunes, performed and sung with so much sense for balance between melodies and dynamics. Everything about this material resonates in a very intimate, gentle, sophisticated manner.

Back From The Dead is available at streaming services such as Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and YouTube. Head over to your preferred streaming service, give it a couple of spins and decide for yourself.