Album Review: 'Highway Collection' by Lovett

Album Review: 'Highway Collection' by Lovett

Review by Annar Veröld.

Delving into the greatest philosophies, story telling and capturing the depth of life in harmonies, soul, heavy downbeats, heavenly choirs, and an undeniable rawness, Lovett masters carefully carving the image of truth and reality with an eclectic style of music that touches the heart from nine different angles.

Ben Lovett, famous for composing musical scores for films, such as The Signal and Last Goodbye, is releasing the debut album for his compelling musical project, Lovett. The album, Highway Collection, is to be released in all of its exceptional glory on March 15. The album features contribution from a variety of artists, including The Mars Volta, Cursive, Ponderosa, The Avett Brothers and Money Mark, to name a few.

“All The Time” starts the album with an avalanche of energy that pushes the album into the youthful and invigorating essence. With a howling choir, upbeat strumming and beating, and catchy chorus, the first track embeds itself into the grooves of your brain so deep, Lovett’s style will be unmistakeably engraved into your mind forever. The momentum is passed as “The Fear” begins to play. Though, the track has more depth in the lyrics, the backing vocals of at least dozens of individuals expresses inspiring strength and power, sounding of a revolutionary spiritual anthem. Eventually, all of the energy climaxes into Lovett’s vibrant and exciting single, “Heart Attack”, that induces a provocative attitude and vindictive nature. The first few tracks are full of such vigor and innocent drive, sounding of hope and good nature.

Lovett then takes a more slower and darker approach with two Southern-influenced tracks, “Two Lovers” and “Live A Moving Train”. Both tracks have strong country and folk influences musically, and in terms of lyrics, tell the story of growth, love, and pain. Lovett’s voice is heavy and mournful, sounding as if it wreaks of whiskey and an infinity of chain-smoking cigarettes, captivating and undeniably alluring.

Even though in comparison to any other artist, “Eye Of The Storm” and “Ghost Of Old Highways” would be suitably acceptable if featured on their debut album. However, Lovett’s first seven tracks are so remarkable, the expectations simply increase as Highway Collection progresses. Unfortunately, the two tracks do not exude the energy and passion from the previous songs, feeling misplaced and closing the album out with an awkward funk until it loops again to “All The Time”, during which you will probably find yourself running to the top of a hill and singing at the top of your lungs.

The magic of Highway Collection is that the album is so eclectic, it sounds as if Lovett created ten different albums and placed the best tracks into one CD. You can honestly hear the influences of The Avett Brothers, The Mars Volta, and Cursive, with hints of inspiration from the iconic Beatles and The Flaming Lips, satisfying every range of music, craving and desire that surfaces about your mind during the fraction of any given second.

Watch the official music video for "Heart Attack" below.



Rating: 9.5/10