• MISC PRESS
Flomotions Interview 28.05.07
Beat [Melbourne] - Live Review 01.09.06
London, UK - Live Review 25.06.06
Clermont Fd, France
Live Review 07.06.06
Austin Chronicle - SXSW 2006
Americana UK - SXSW 2006
Scroll down to Day Shows Fri 17 Mar
GuideLive Dallas - SXSW 2006
Scroll down to Jonesing at Bourbon
Drum Media [Sydney]
Best Live Shows 2005
Best Albums 2005
Live Review 16-Dec-05
More press here
• ALBUM REVIEWS
AXIOM
HARP MAGAZINE [2007]
The contrast between verse and chorus, subtle or drastic, can turn an average song into a heart-tugging piece of
pop bliss. Matt Tow, who fronts Australian pretty things the Lovetones, knows this. On the band’s third album,
“Pieces of Me” makes a drastic key change between verse and chorus, pulsed by a flute-y mellotron, and it slays.
The hook in “Ordinary Lives” comes when the tender verse resolves into a grandiose crescendo of Bowie-esque
proportions. Tow, who has also logged time with the Brian Jonestown Massacre, doesn’t stop there. Axiom overflows
with meticulous arrangements full of jangly seventh chords, piano countermelodies and melodic bass lines that
elevate the song structures. He might know all the tricks of the ’60s psychedelia, but the end result sounds
current instead of psych-by-numbers. And “Alone” closes the album describing the title in a modern way that
the Summer of Love wouldn’t allow: “It’s something we all feel.”
~Mike Shanley
AXIOM
THE RED ALERT [2007]
Almost psychedelic pop, leaning towards a drugged out '60s flashback, emanates from this CD. I feel like time
traveling, but I get lost in the music and end up staying right here. There are hints of that Dandy Warhol / Brian Jonestown
Massacre vibe shimmering in these songs – and so it’s no surprise that singer Matt Tow was a member of the BJM,
joining that band in 2003.
The songs pulse and resonate with sonic ache and mellow sighs that break like ocean waves across your body.
It sounds like California, but sadder. It sounds like The Soundtrack Of Our Lives melting into Beach Boys
ideals and moving into a heartbreak hotel. It feels so good, it feels so sad, it feels like longing
transforming into love and then losing it all again… but you know there’s happiness in the future, so
it’s okay to let the loss wash over you, and smile.
Psychedelic right now, like Mercury Rev meets Brian Wilson and they play a game of catch with your dreams.
The songs just fit together, and the choruses are catchy without being contrived, the verses stick and sink into
you, and the instruments all seem to know your name. Meanwhile the vocals tell you stories that you wish you
could have heard as a child, because then the world may still be a sad place sometimes, but something about it
would just make more sense.
~ Marcel Feldmar
AXIOM
BEAT [2007]
At the risk of condoning the self-perpetuating hyperbole that permeates the cultural significance of the 1960s, at the heart of the emergence of the psychedelic pop movement was
a realisation (sparked by some of Stanley Owsley's highest quality pharmaceutical products) that within the superficial simplicity of the humble pop song resided infinite layers crying out for artistic exploration.
That contradiction – or maybe it's just a dialectic – remains central to The Lovetones' music. On the last Lovetones record, Meditations, the band explored more
obvious psychedelic territory, wading through fuzzed out soundscapes that threatened to bend your mind into a rubbery mass. There are a couple of noticeable deviations on Axiom.
Firstly, The Lovetones detour away from their previous journey to the depths of psychedelic pop in favour of a sonic landscape that explores the beauty of the pop form that exists within the modern psychedelic style.
Secondly, there's a multi-instrumental aspect – perhaps best illustrated by the poly-dimensional Navigator – that embellishes the pop sensibility without saturating it.
Throughout it all Matthew Tow remains a master of the pop song. The first single lifted from the album, Wintertime in Hollywood,
is proof positive, a love song that makes you smile without puking, with a melody that hangs around without overstaying its welcome.
Or there's the sweet and sunny Californian happiness of Say You Will, a perfect recipe for a day at the beach free from the brain frying frustrations of everyday life.
And just to show that there's still some psychedelic exploration left in the Lovetones, Alone rounds out the album with some blurry eyed, string-augmented artistic indulgence.
The Lovetones are criminally under-appreciated in Australia – for once, you can be sure the Americans are smarter than us on this one.
Axiom is unlikely to redress completely that criminality, but it should help.
~Patrick Emery
AXIOM
ALLMUSIC [2007]
The Lovetones' third album is less explicit in its '60s and '70s reference points than its predecessor, Meditations.
At times it sounds like a rather average singer/songwriter album dusted with late-'60s/early-'70s quirks in the
production and the arrangements, particularly with Mellotron sounds, mildly distorted vocals and instruments,
and organs that seem as if they might have been airlifted in from a different era. While it doesn't give pleasure
to point this out, the best moments are those that are most reminiscent of past work by the greats. That's
particularly the case when songwriter Matt Tow reaches for the kind of expansive grandeur projected by David
Bowie in the early '70s, when Bowie seemed at his most sincere — a similarity that's never greater than in
"Ordinary Lives," one of the record's highlights. If you always lamented that the ever-changing Bowie abandoned
that phase of his development fairly quickly, some of these songs are the kind of thing that can give you a quick
fix of more of the same, though Tow isn't as far-reaching (or pretentious) in his scope. If you also lament the
lost art of writing decent melodic mid-tempo songs that use keyboards as well as guitars, it's recommended as well,
sometimes specifically recalling John Lennon's knack for doing such material in the '70s.
~Richie Unterberger
MEDITATIONS
UNCUT [SEPT 2006]
Second album from Jonestown-affiliated Aussies
The Lovetones' frontman Matthew J Tow is best known for his work with the Brian Jonestown Massacre:
he played guitar on the road with them for three years and contributed two songs to their 2003 album
...And This Is Our Music. There are obvious similarities between the bands, but it's John Lennon rather
than the former Stones guitarist that is the main influence here. However, this is no mere Beatles trip:
the folky strum of "Inside A Dream" suggests the more pastoral moments of The Pretty Things' SF Sorrow,
while epic standout cut "Pictures" recalls The Soundtrack Of Our Lives.
~Nathaniel Cramp
MEDITATIONS
ALLMUSIC [2005]
If you're looking for an ultimate half-and-half fusion of John Lennon with early-1970s David Bowie,
the Lovetones' second album is one of the closer approximations that's apt to appear. They credibly
recall both of those figures in the arching vocals and earnestly penetrating vocals, and (at least as far
as Bowie goes) in a vague sort of launching-into-the-cosmos ethos. As with many efforts that bring
to mind icons of decades past, half-and-half doesn't necessarily make a whole on par with the whole
of any single one of their inspirations. There's a slightly lazy, drifting feel to lyrical preoccupations,
and a similarity of approach throughout most of the tracks, that the masters of these kinds of forms
transcend with greater eclecticism and vision. Keeping your expectations realistic, however, it's a
pleasant listening experience, with an effectively psychedelic-tinged, full-but-not-densely-cluttered
blend of electric and acoustic guitar and keyboard textures. The keyboards in particular recall early
Pink Floyd on "Genius" and the dramatic closing instrumental "The Color and the Cut," which builds
to an opus-like piece after a comparatively modest beginning. Among the highlights are "Inside a
Dream," with its gently sliding guitar glides; "Come Home," which sounds a little like the Beatles'
"Free As a Bird" as done by an indie band; and "Across the Sea," whose chorus can't fail to recall
the melody of Buffalo Springfield's "Broken Arrow."
~Richie Unterberger
MEDITATIONS
BEAT [2006]
Australia has many unheralded musical talents. Matt Tow is one of them. Drop
City, Tow’s first notable band, was sadly under-appreciated in Australia
despite producing some of the finest psychedelia flavoured rock over its ten
year history. After time playing with and alongside the Brian Jonestown
Massacre (a colourful experience that’s can only make one’s character
stronger), Tow's current outfit, The Lovetones, continues to indulge his
love of psychedelia, this time with a more transparent pop edge.
Meditations is The Lovetones’ first significant release since the critically
acclaimed Be What You Want, and it deserves equal acclaim, traversing the
spectrum of psychedelia without missing a beat. The first two tracks of the
album are near perfect psych-pop tunes. Mantra is so catchy it’s almost
disturbing. An invigorating Neil Young guitar hook, dreamy vocals that waft
over the music like the sweet stench of Sensomilia at California rock
festival, and a certifiable pop classic to boot. (I Gotta) Feel (apparently
recorded in the Sydney Opera House) is so pleasant that it almost makes you
feel there was something substantive to all that peace, love and
understanding shit. Stars is Revolver era Beatles while Inside A Dream would
be the song John Phillips would’ve written had he left his drug-fuelled
Californian lifestyle and moved to the Blue Mountains.
Occasionally the band errs on the languid side of pop; both Was I There In
Your Future and It’s Not Over Yet are more soppy than dreamy. Yet any
aberration is quickly forgotten by the time the six-minute instrumental
Genius swings into action, and drowned in submission for the sprawling psych
jam of Pictures. In contrast Sea Shanty is The Doors meets Louis Tillett,
while A Place For Us could be Midnight Oil’s Wedding Cake Island free from
its pub rock origins. In conclusion we get seven minutes of The Colour and
the Cut, a vivid journey through the soundscapes played out on RD Laing’s
couch, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, sometimes threatening and always
compelling.
If ever there was an album that goes beyond overpriced designer paisley
shirts and 15 minute rambling blatant Doors rip-offs and finds the true
musical spirit of the 1960s, it’s Meditations.
~Patrick Emery
MEDITATIONS
RIP IT UP [2006]
In mid 2002 while everyone was babbling on about how awesome Coldplay’s A Rush Of Blood To The Head was,
Australian group The Lovetones were delivering a heady dose of picture perfect rock via their low-key debut
Be What You Want. A project that heralded the return of Drop City’s Matt Tow, its explosive opening salvo
The Sound And The Fury was the perfect pop single that Even never got around to writing, Give It All I Can
stole from Noel Gallagher’s top shelf and finale Fairweather was a warily weary comedown. A few years later
and with The Lovetones seemingly on the backburner, Tow’s name popped up on The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s post-Dig!
anthology Tepid Peppermint Wonderland, with the Australian retro specialist seemingly a perfect foil for BJM’s
self-proclaimed genius Anton Newcombe to plunder ideas from.
Now back behind The Lovetones wheel, the chord progressions of opening Meditations
tune Mantra suggest that the psychedelic grooves that power The Brian Jonestown Massacre
are still a strong reference point for The Lovetones. Like a hallucinating Goa beauty, Mantra
sets Meditations off on a twisted path that takes in the influence of George Harrison’s 1966 sitar
period on Stars (wrestled back from Anton Newcombe’s clutches), the extended keyboard eloquence of Procol
Harum on Genius and The Coral’s psyched-out swing on Sea Shanty. Across The Sea is like a melodious Elliott Smith
taking on Bowie’s Space Oddity before delicate piano finale The Colour And The Cut proves Tow’s multi-instrumentalist
mate Matthew Sigley has more to him than just a famous dad.
Although it seems that Tow’s relationship with cult musician Newcombe has not yet ended in tears, the ongoing
quality of the music of The Lovetones ensures there’s little need for Matt to slink back to playing second fiddle
to his BJM headkicker pal.
Cosmic wonderment popland.
~Scott McLennan
MEDITATIONS
ROLLING STONE AUSTRALIA [2006]
Sydney act Drop City should have been a household name; songs as good as Apple
Tree from the band's 1995 set Magic Transistor Radio don't come along too often.
Instead, they splintered, leaving frontman Matthew J. Tow with the
Lovetones and an occasional contribution to the troubled Brian Jonestown
Massacre. Meditations, the Lovetones' overdue second album, announces itself
with a glorious psychedelic-pop wave (Mantra); at their best, as on the
brilliant Inside a Dream, and bassist Matthew Sigley's dreamy It's Not Over
Yet, they're every bit as wondrous as not just their contemporaries but their
shoe-gazing heroes. A trip from start to finish, Meditations is further proof
that songwriters don't lose their ability because they don't have record deals;
in some ways, it can strengthen their resolve to deliver the goods when the
opportunity finally arises.
~Andrew Weaver
MEDITATIONS
DRUM MEDIA [2006]
Are The Lovetones capable of writing a single song that won't leave you with a
strange desire to don paisley and strut down Carnaby Street spreading your own
love in various ways and forms? Alright, so King Street will probably have to
make do for most of us and I'm not suggesting anyone go round literally
spreading their seed, but it's hard not to conjure such images when
The Lovetones wear their sixties influences so proudly on their sleeves.
Following up their debut album of 2002, Meditations sees The Lovetones make
a striking transition from classic Brit-Pop to a form of music that oscillates
between trippy space-rock, warm ballads and ethereal pop. Not to mention a
rickety old sea shanty thrown in the mix for good measure. But what's so
beautiful about Meditations is the sense that each track has been so tenderly
crafted and thoughtfully mapped out, so that even when The Lovetones psych-out
into jam mode (which they do so delightfully, several times), the path back to
their radiant sizties pop is sufficiently illuminated.
Pictures is a stand-out track that begins lethargically, slowly
traipsing from a world of sweet pop delights into a heady, dense headspace
of swinging psychedelia. And if Matt Tow's arching vocal melodies don't take
you to the sun, nothing will.
Listen to Meditations and you'll get the sneaking suspicion that The Lovetones
are privy to a secret, carefree world in which all you need is love and a few
guitars to get by. So turn off your mind, relax and float downstream. If you're
lucky, you may come across four paisley clad visionaries meditating on the
shores of your own dream.
~Aimee-Lee Curran
MEDITATIONS
BMA MAGAZINE [2006]
The Lovetones definitely would have been quite at home in the '60s.
Their mellow, psychedelic bent combines organs, pianos and vocals that sound
like they've been born 100 nights of acid-dropping. Somewhere between Pink
Floyd and Simon & Garfunkel, Meditations is an indulgent epic covering pop,
folk and rock which although unforgiving for its notable musical influences,
still comes off sounding sincere and unpretentious. While I'm usually wary of
albums whose first two tracks are also the first two singles, The Lovetones
manage to maintain the high standard of Mantra and [I Gotta] Feel for almost
a whole hour without [for the most part] ever seeming repetitive or drawn-out.
~Ben Hermann
MEDITATIONS
DAILY TELEGRAPH [2006]
If John Lennon was still alive, would he be making the same kind of records as
Imagine? And if everyone in rock is ripping off Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin,
then shouldn't pop acts be recreating The Beatles' and Bowie's sounds? These
questions spring to mind as The Lovetones' Matt Tow opens the latest album
with Mantra. These are beautiful songs with infectious hooks, gorgeous
melodies and a production sound straight out of the '60s. Maybe Tow and co are
being too faithful to their influences but this is an album of classics Beatles
and Bowie fans will adore.
~Kathy McCabe
MEDITATIONS
SLUG MAG [2005]
The Lovetones = 60s psychedelia + everything worthwhile since.
Matthew J Tow (formerly of Drop City and briefly Brian Jonestown Massacre) kicks off The Lovetones’
second album with “Mantra”; a track that recalls the finer days of The Dandy Warhols merged with the
lyricism and subject matter of fellow Australians The Church. This proves to be a sign of things to
come, although not in the way you might expect. Meditations is an album full of mixed influences.
You’ll find The Doves mixed in with a Motown hook on “(I Gotta) Feel” before diving deep into The
Beatles’ psychedelic experimentation with a hint of Bowie on “Stars”. That’s just the first three songs.
Later you’ll hear a touch of The Doors, some Elliot Smith, and a large amount of LSD-inspired treachery.
If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, it should. Where less talented musicians might stumble in their
tributes, Tow & Co. excel with pleasant melodies and simple, yet effective lyrics.
~Ryan Michael Painter
MEDITATIONS
THE MUSIC EDGE [2005]
Attentive comparisons to a band such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre could do no harm to this Australian quintet. After all, veteran musician Matthew J Tow has been at it relentlessly
since the nineties much like his American counterparts, like with Drop City, a trio that garnered certain success in his native land by playing psychedelic pop in the vein of the Stone Roses.
However, by the time the decade came to an end the group decided to call it quits, and leader Tow headed to England and the U.S. Around that time Tow hooked up with Jonestown’s Newcombe,
and began writing new songs. The experience clearly made a dent, as all the clear influences easily noticed in Newcombe’s outfit are also heard in Meditations, The Lovetones’ sophomore release.
Recorded and mixed by Jason Blackwell between April ’04 and May ’05 at Electric Avenue Studios, except “(I Gotta) Feel,” which was recorded by Blackwell with the help of Tony David Cray at the
Sydney Opera House, Meditations is a pure delight for fans of The Zombies, latter-period The Beatles, Big Star, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and even David Bowie at his most feminine.
Talk about Beatle-esque tunes and The Lovetones definitely steal the cake. A song like “Stars” owes a great deal to the Fab Four’s influential melodic work, while fifth track “Was I there in Your Future?”
mixes McCartney and David Gilmour in the most spaced out way. It is at this point that we can see Tow’s lyrical work and vocal display deeply influenced by Pink Floyd’s brand of psychedelia. The
seventh track presents us with a folksy melody, nicely accompanied by a really delightful keyboard solo that even though never reaches a musical plateau, it certainly brings the album to a welcome crescendo.
Revising this last paragraph, one could come to the realizations that most, if not all of the perfectly crafted pop influences of this band are the same that affect Newcombe’s work. The pair (Newcombe/Tow) have gotten
even closer, as Tow has toured the States as the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s rhythm guitarist and contributed two songs to the band’s latest And This is Our Music, out on Tee Pee now.
Judging Meditations from a respectful distance is easy to come to the conclusion that The Lovetones is a band that must not go unnoticed.
~Hansel Merchor
MEDITATIONS
SF BURNING [2005]
Matthew J. Tow became known in Australia for the band Drop City.
The band toured all over the world and became a curious wonder.
I became aware of him when he was hanging out with Anton Newcombe
and Brian Jonestown Massacre in 2000. So after The Lovetones formed
and released their first amazing album, that contained many wonderful
songs, The Lovetones toured with Morrissey in Sydney. Tow worked with
Newcombe and sang two self-written tracks on a BJM record. After a lot
of success with this band, they have returned with new producer a load
of new and better songs. A few seconds into the first song "Mantra" I
know everything is going to be great. I feel that excitement when I
first heard the Dandy Warhols in the first tow songs here.
The Lovetones have always been into the early Beatles and The Byrds.
"Stars" is the first slice into psychedelic rock with a little Lennon
on the shoulder. "Inside A Dream" reminds me of the early 1970s and
singers like Bowie and Lennon. Some cool original tunes come in the
middle with "Sea Shanty" and "Come Home." These songs have amazing
emotion and evoke just so much. The melody of "Come Home" is simply
wonderful. A few spacey and slower acoustic numbers follow this.
"A Place For Us" has that Spaghetti Western vibe to it. This record
is a special journey through fourteen unique songs. Matthew Tow is a
major songwriter in his own right now. The Lovetones are a major force
in music. Nobody can deny the greatness of this music. It is one of
the year's best recordings.
MEDITATIONS
SUBCULTURE MAGAZINE [2005]
The 60s live on! All the way from the name of the band (THE LOVETONES) through the
title and content of the album (Meditations), Aussie Matthew Tow makes it more than
evident that he has put together a band that harkens back to when there was nothing
funny about peace, love, and understanding. With sitar-sounding guitars, poundingly
simple organ and piano pieces, and lyrics that wreak of a far simpler, more poppy period
in our musical history, Meditations may trigger a flash back at worst, but more than likely,
have you smiling and humming pleasantly through many listens.
While Matthew Tow's old band, Drop City, had a nice critically successful run as a
neo-psychedelic power-pop band in the 90s, his emphasis with this new band, while firmly
entrenched in 60s influences (particularly the Beatles a la John), is clearly more focused on the
'song'. And make no mistake about it; this is as good a collection of pop songs out this year.
Meditations opens, curiously enough, with a droning drum and acoustic number called
'Mantra' that sounds more like Ride or the Dandy Warhols than it does the Byrds or the Beatles.
But The Lovetones are clearly not a dream-pop band, as is evidenced by the very next song '(I Gotta) Feel'
which is an up tempo, airy song that sounds more like a top ten song from back when Tommy James
was selling millions of records and girls were physically passing out in the presence of
Paul (instead of wincing a bit when he takes his shoes off now).
While Matthew Tow, an Australian from the inner city of Sydney, unpretentiously pays homage
to the 60s on virtually every song, not a single track lacks from originality or in any way sounds
overly derivative. Lyrically the songs also attempt to recall a far more innocent and carefree time.
'All she wants to be is a star for all to see on the Silver Screen.' (Yes Matthew, very Beatlesque, but
we have color now, Plasma, LCD, MPEG4).
Plus a couple valiant attempts at druggy-type pretensions: 'Was I there inside your future?
Was I there inside your dream?'
But it works and is all in good catchy, tongue and cheek fun, and wreaks of sincerity. A couple of
instrumental tracks, particularly 'The Color and the Cut' recall early Pink Floyd more than most other
60s psychedelia. In fact, Meditations as a whole has a loose, unabashed yet tight quality to it
that recalls Obscured By Clouds, the last true collection of songs by Pink Floyd before they hit the big time.
All in all, Meditations is a refreshing collection of catchy pop songs that stick with you and beg a re-listen.
~Jim Harris
MEDITATIONS
WEST WORD [2005]
These Aussies, led by singer-songwriter Matthew Tow, color their
evocative pop rock in umber tones. Songs like "Mantra" deliver
winsome hooks swaddled in vocals as dark and rich as the finest
chocolate. One title asks, "Was I There in Your Future?" Based on
this retro-but-right disc, the answer should be "Hope so."
~Roberts
MEDITATIONS
FISHCOM COLLECTIVE [2005]
Here's the recipe. In various portions with different elements surfacing in different spots throughout the album:
R.E.M. meets The Dandy Warhols. 60s folk pop. Hint of the Talking Heads and 80s piano rock. A little Beatles,
a little David Bowie. A tad bit of new wave and Tangerine Dream. Lots of ethereal psyche rock.
Classic Brit pop in general. All summoned and mixed together in a modern oldie redux indie today meal a la Brian Jonestown Massacre.
Mmmmmm .....
~Upchuck Undergrind
BE WHAT YOU WANT
CREEM MAGAZINE [2003]
This is maybe one of the best pop albums I've ever heard. I almost said alternative pop,
but they fit my standards of pop. They have a smooth rocking groove and some heartfelt lyrics.
The only album I've heard that is as thoroughly listenable and cross-culturally groovy is Love's Forever Changes.
This album has stronger musicianship though. These guys are an Australian gang of rockers, no stupid accents or didgery-doo
though. Just good strongly crafted pop songs. I'd rather listen to these guys then Avril or most modern pop.
They have way stronger grooves then even folks like the Chili Peppers not that I'm dissing the Chili Peppers.
I'm just saying that these guys have a total command of the post-Beatles song form. If you liked (or loved as I did)
Jellyfish's Bellybutton album you'll need to get an extra copy of this one to keep from wearing it out! Uplifting warm
wholesome music that sounds gooder than shit as yer loading the bowl or stroking her ass trying to get her pants off.
But listen for yourself!
BE WHAT YOU WANT
HIGH BIAS [2003]
You'd think that a band with the implicit patronage of Brian Jonestown Massacre leader Anton Newcombe
(since The Committee to Keep Music Evil is his label) would bear a similarity to the BJM's shambolic
psychedelia. But, in the case of Australia's Lovetones, you'd be wrong. Led by former Drop City major domo
Matthew J Tow, The Lovetones present Be What You Want, a debut collection of tightly constructed, blatantly
anthemic set-pieces that sound like arena rock singalongs without the cheesy aftertaste. Tow sings with
plenty of emotion, but he keeps it under tight rein, rendering strongly focused performances that spotlight
the melodies without belaboring them. The band adds the occasional orchestral bit (a glockenspiel here,
a Mellotron there) but sticks fairly close to its guitars/bass/drums core. This is the kind of music that
could get old if left to rampage unchecked, but the band's craft balances out Tow's heart nicely on excellent
songs like 'Guiding Star', 'The One and Only' and 'Something Good'. This is the kind of soulful, widescreen pop
certain British bands would kill to be making.
~Michael Toland
BE WHAT YOU WANT
ALLMUSIC [2003]
Be What You Want is a striking debut for Sydney, Australia's the Lovetones, a trio led by singer/songwriter Matt Tow,
that manages to keep its balance on that difficult path between the past and the present. Tow is clearly
a major fan of '60s U.K. pop from Revolver-era Beatles to the Move in their early days to the gossamer
pop of the Zombies to David Bowie's pre-stardom mod phase (the anthemic, powerful opener
"The Sound and the Fury" would have been a killer follow-up to Bowie's 1966 single "Can't Help
Thinking About Me"), but unlike a lot of his contemporaries, Tow knows the difference between
homage and thievery. Think Neil Finn or Allen Clapp, not Oasis. Songs like the dreamy
neo-psychedelia of "Guiding Star" or the passionate title track are mature, literate pop with
thoughtful, non-clichéd lyrics and sturdily memorable hooks. Be What You Want is a small,
intimate record that proves that it's no longer enough to simply churn out third-rate
Todd Rundgren and Badfinger imitations in the pop underground.
~Stewart Mason
BE WHAT YOU WANT
CULTURE BUNKER [2003]
The Lovetones are an Australian band on Anton Newcombe's label, the same label that's home to The Snakes and
Dead Meadow among others. A strange fit. Singer Matthew Tow had a pretty strong following back home
during the time he released five albums with his band Drop City. Now, a self-professed fan of Elliott Smith
and late-period Beatles, Tow is back with his new band and a collection of harmony drenched classics.
Immediately calls to mind Stone Roses ('Give It All I Can'), Radiohead during their 'Bends' period ('Something Good'),
and Jason Falkner's neo-psychedelic guitar loops and dives. Comparing a band favorably to these bands
is meant as praise. Tow's songwriting shows a devotion to these masters of the craft and a confidence in
his own ability as a lyricist and player. Unlike the other bands on Evil, The Lovetones have a straightforward
sound that isn't hiding razor blades in apples. They are making heartfelt melodies and trying to make an album
full of honey-throated jangle pop. For the most part The Lovetones deliver on their promise.
The string sections on a few of the songs recall 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' in not only texture but also in direction.
This is a man who has made several statements and gotten his demons out in his previous band and now
wanted to make beautiful contemporary pop. 'Drink The Night' is a diamond of pop perfection, echoing the
trenchant song craftsmanship of Noel Gallagher's better moments. For fans of any of the bands who have
experimented with acoustic guitars and Northern British pop. 'It's Always Been This Way' is another epic ballad.
The Lovetones' debut album showcases a songwriter in the best tradition of anthemic pop, and this collection
of mid-tempo songs with lush production treatments arrives as a refresher course on how to craft a song.
~Matt Vermin
BE WHAT YOU WANT
LOLLIPOP [2003]
Aah yes, the delightful confection that is the purest, shiniest pop music: The brass ring that so many
aspiring songwriters have reached for with lust in their eyes and Beatles records poking from their back
pockets. Heady territory, yes, but only if you can reach it. As the saying goes, it's nice work if you can get it.
The problem, of course, is that pop bliss requires absolute perfection. Loud rock allows plenty of leeway
for sloppy playing, bad singing, shaky songwriting, etc. The sort of task bands like The Lovetones take
upon themselves requires a precision and an attention to detail that most musicians simply do not possess,
which is why I involuntarily get clammy when I hear a bandleader earnestly declare that he would like to make
a mature pop record. Sure, it's great if you can succeed, but look at the abysmally low success rate and the
too-horrible-to-comprehend potential destinations, which range from sensitive, self-pitying boy-child bleating
to light rock, less talk schmaltzville, for the failures. I can't say that Be What You Want is a perfect album,
but they make a pretty damn good run at it. Lead singer Matthew J Tow's voice reminds me at times of
Guided By Voices singer Bob Pollard, so I suppose GBV comparisons are a bit inevitable. Opener 'The Sound and the Fury' is
what Guided By Voices might sound like if Bob Pollard were ever inspired to actually complete a song
and then arrange and produce it well. I like a few GBV albums a lot, but The Lovetones have enough of
a pride in their craft that shittily-recorded half-songs which are GBV's bread and butter are unacceptable.
And this is a good thing. Like a master brick mason or furniture maker, the people who wrote the songs
contained herein are craftsmen. The songs are the product of sweat and elbow grease and, well, work, as is
most of the good music in this world. The folks who rattle on about 'waiting for inspiration' are almost
always charlatans of the worst sort, and their lack of work is usually painfully transparent in the finished product.
I'm not trying to sound like I'm down on all lo-fi music, but it can be kind of annoying when one listen to an
album pretty much confirms that the retail price of the finished product exceeds the entire recording budget.
This is especially the case in the field of pop music, where so much of a song's success can lie in the
details a well-placed handclap, a spine-chilling harmony, etc. In any case, you'll have no such worries
with Be What You Want. It's as artfully crafted and lovingly tended as a highly-polished emerald ring,
and you can feel assured that any money you spend acquiring it was well-spent.
~Brian Varney
BE WHAT YOU WANT
SENTIMENTALIST [2003]
The Lovetones are the perfect pop synthesis of Beatles-influenced psychedelic melodies and modern
grooves in the vein of BRMC, BJM or Elliott Smith. Singer singwriter guitarist Matthew J Tow has a John
Lennon-esque voice and a penchant for soulful lyrics and romantic tunes. This, combined with the band's
flawless musicianship should get them noticed in no time. The fact that they're from Australia could serve
as an added attraction. The disc starts out with hip-shaking tracks 'The Sound and the Fury' and 'Give It All I Can'
and winds its way down to more longing ballads, catching a full prism of colors and moods enroute.
Recommended.
BE WHAT YOU WANT
SHINDIG [2003]
Although these guys are from Sydney Australia, if you didn't know any better you'd swear they were
from the UK, as Be What You Want is filled with the kind of textural, psychedelic-tinged sounds that the
un-informed mainstream press will liken to Radiohead. Lead vocalist Matthew Tow (formerly of Drop City)
possesses a powerful instrument indeed, which serves the band well on cool, Brit-pop tunes like 'The Sound And The Fury',
'Give It All I Can', and 'Something Good'. The album has its lighter moments as well; 'Drink The Night (My Love)'
will recall Squeeze with its octave-separated vocal harmonies and 'The One And Only', with its soulful bent
guitar notes, is as catchy as pop music gets. There's also the standout ballad 'It's Always Been This Way',
which has the kind of gut-wrenching impact that Dennis Wilson provided on Pacific Ocean Blue.
Good stuff, this!
BE WHAT YOU WANT
ROLLING STONE AUSTRALIA [2002]
Classic Britpop, straight outta Sydney.
In an ideal world, Matt Tow should have boldly walked Carnaby Street a few decades back, decked out
in paisley and waxing lyrical with the 1960s pop masters. That way he would have been a peer of Ray
Davies, Lennon & McCartney and David Bowie, rather than a born-too-late admirer. You see, these are
the icons he considers touchstones, both now with The Lovetones and in his past life with Drop City
(who cut three high-grade albums in the '90s). He's a Britpop classicist trapped in a Sydneysider's body.
And Tow's big pop heart beats loudly throughout the first-rate Be What You Want, especially in such
tracks as the lead-off single, 'Give It All I Can', and the string-sodden 'Be What You Want'. 'Guiding Star',
meanwhile, heads into a lysergic headspace that even Syd Barrett might have found a little too heavy.
Noel Gallagher could do a lot worse than to listen and learn.
3.5 stars
~Jeff Apter
"Former Drop City frontman Matt Tow emerges with a new outfit and sensational new album.
It opens with foot-thumper The Sound And The Fury, while the next track
reminds you of Oasis in their heyday. Tow is adept at slow-burners and power pop,
as evidenced by It's Always Been That Way and Fairweather."
[4 star review, The Sunday Telegraph]
"It's better than anything Oasis have flung at their adoring public. Heads down AND thumps up!"
[JB Hi-Fi]
"catchy Britpop tunes, many steeped in 1960's psychedelica, it tastes good."
[The Weekend Australian]
"The best Australian band you haven't heard of yet. This punchy debut will be blasting from a radio speaker near you soon. It leaves you hungry for more."
[Courier Mail]
"Be What You Want caters to hippies, young moderns and any girl who has ever done the bum dance
to a horn chart. So basically everyone. However, this album is specifically designed for acid-soaked,
electric folk fetishists."
[Album of the week - Beat Magazine]
"There's a sincerity in their purist approach that's hard to resist."
[Who Weekly]
"Make it your summer soundtrack today."
[Time-Off]
"Guided by brilliant production, Be What You Want, is a pop-rock classic. Distinguished by golden melodies
and a subject matter that is emotionally direct and largely autobiographical, the Lovetones are
reviving the true essence of psychedelic pop."
[Rolling Stone]
"a sensational pop record, a beautiful collection of concise, powerful songs."
[Inpress Mag]
"The Lovetones have produced one of the best Australian albums so far this year."
[Barfly]
"a rich collage of dynamic rock, heady harmonies and snarling sixties soul, and another interesting piece in the evolving jig-saw that is Matthew J Tow."
[Filmink]
"an album brimming with hooks, exceptional."
[Rip It Up]