Album Review: Lovelaws, TT

Although fellow Warpainters Jenny Lee Lindberg and Stella Mozgawa drop in to lend a hand on Theresa Wayman’s solo debut, Lovelaws, for the most part it’s a one-woman operation. The majority of the synth, bass, guitar and drum programming were deftly executed by Wayman herself, while production duties are shared with her brother Ivan. The result is cool, downbeat and languid.

Dealing with the ups and downs of romance – filtered through the experiences of a peripatetic musician, and written from the perspective of a single parent of a 12-year-old – Wayman is, in her own words, “coming from a position of what it’s like to have and to get unconditional love.”
Among the stand-out tracks are ‘I’ve Been Fine’, detailing disenchantment and ennui in a failing affair; first single ‘Love Leaks’; and the sultry ‘Take One’, where Wayman’s glacial vocals long for star-crossed love, once again.

The overall mood is claustrophobic – the aural equivalent of a deep-sea journey in a submersible. Enveloped in icy, Stygian depths, the sounds resonate with exaggerated meaning. The bleep of the sonar and navigational instruments ping back and forth, as synths stutter and groan like the creaking of a stressed hull. Apart from the appropriately entitled ‘Sassafras (Interlude)’, the mood sustains. When it’s over, you feel like you’ve emerged from a dark tunnel, feeling slightly dazed as you blink against the sunlight.

Record label: Caroline International
Listen to: I've Been Fine
Overall rating: 6/10