UK’s garage punks Lovvers kick off their Spring US tour next week ending with performances at Austin, TX’s SXSW Music Festival. The tour also takes in dates with Abe Vigoda, Male Bonding and The Vivian Girls.
“Lovvers are four rapscallions your parents would totally hate. Specializing in no-fi haymakers…” -Spin
“UK band cranks out grimy, punky hotrod rock and roll” -Rolling Stone
“They play fast and sloppy, but they keep a pop-punk sense of abandon, careening around the stage and dipping into the crowd to sing in people’s faces.” -Pitchfork
“…punk jams that get the likes of Jay Reatard and Wipers in simultaneous full nelsons.” -RCRD LBL
US Tour Dates
Mar 04 Seattle, WA @ Comet Tavern w/ The Strange Boys + Chain And The Gang
Mar 05 Portland, OR @ East End w/ So Cow
Mar 06 Oakland, CA @ 21 Grand w/ Abe Vigoda + Shannon And The Clams
Mar 07 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill w/ Abe Vigoda
Mar 09 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place w/ Abe Vigoda + So Cow
Mar 10 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo w/ Abe Vigoda
Mar 11 San Diego, CA @ Bar Pink Elephant w/ Abe Vigoda
Mar 12 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space w/ Abe Vigoda
Mar 13 Santa Fe, NM @ Corazon w/ Abe Vigoda
Mar 14 Lubbock, TX @ Nume House w/ Abe Vigoda
Mar 15 Norman, OK @ Opolis w/ Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda + Male Bonding
Mar 16 Dallas, TX @ Lounge On Elm St. w/ Vivian Girls, Abe Vigoda + Male Bonding
SXSW – Austin, TX
Mar 17 SXSW: Epoch
Mar 17 SXSW: Cheapo Discs
Mar 17 SXSW: Gallery Black Lagoon
Mar 18 SXSW: Spiderhouse Cafe
Mar 18 SXSW: Find-N-Grind Skate Shop
Mar 19 SXSW: OK Mountain Gallery
Mar 19 SXSW: Club 1808
Mar 19 SXSW: Union Park
Mar 20 SXSW: Red House Pizzeria
Mar 20 SXSW: Aster’s Ethiopian Restaurant
Mar 20 SXSW: Mohawk (Panache Showcase)
Mar 21 SXSW: Beerland (Panache Hangover Party)
Although originally hailing from different parts of the UK, Lovvers formed whilst all four members were living in Nottingham in 2006. They are a strange mix of music’s forgotten blank generation, re-calling the spirit of Darby Crashes’ Germs, the weirdness of Flipper, Wipers-style pop and the carefree attitude of The Replacements.
Having released four noisy seven-inch singles (three on the Jonson Family record label and one a 4 way band split release on OIB records) the band signed to Wichita Recordings in 2008 and released the “Think” EP that same year and their debut full-length OCD Go Go Go Girls in late-2009. With four US visits, three proper US tours, SXSW and CMJ dates under their collective belts they shared countless stages with many bands including Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kurt Vile, Butthole Surfers, No Age, Times New Viking, Jay Reatard, Awesome Color, Mika Miko, Fucked Up, Black Lips, Brutal Knights, Los Campesinos!, Strange Boys, Intelligence and Boss Hog.
In 2009 Lovvers set about making their first full-length, OCD Go Go Go Girls, that in their own words is “an unconventional weird pop record”. Comparisons to Mark Sultan and Clorox Girls are clear but it kicks off with something that almost resembles The Clash. This isn’t “Overpowered By Funk” but more “Career Opportunities” then next we get the Ramones meets Minutemen then 13th Floor Elevators.
Whilst this is budget rock, this time around the budget was actually pretty good so they relocated to Jackpot! Studios (owned by Larry Crane, editor of Tape Op Magazine) in the musical Mecca of Portland, Oregon. With Pat Kearns (Red Dons, Clorox Girls, Exploding Hearts) manning the desk they set about making a record that you’re definitely want to keep spinning for some time from now.
OCD Go Go Go Girls is new-meets-old but by the end it’s fuzzed out Woodstock. This is vintage stuff; a completely analogue recording. New instruments have been embraced but when was the last time an independent English band made an interesting, raw, guitar record?
As Lovvers’ frontman, Shaun Hencher puts it “there’s a wealth of American bands, it’s a good time, but when was the last time we championed our own? With bands like Shitty Limits, Hipshakes and, hopefully, us raising the stakes, surely it’s time for people to stop listening to what they’re told and make up their own minds. And when was the last time that happened?”
Links:
MySpace: myspace.com/letscommunicate
Blog: lovvers-letscommunicate.blogspot.com
Artist page: wichita-recordings.com/index.php/artists/detail/lovvers