Vermont's Thus Love do a neat approximation of Eighties New Wave. Their new record, All Pleasure, is stuffed to the brim with guitar hooks and vocal performances that owe huge debts to bands like Bauhaus and Modern English. And while the album was mastered by Bob Weston (Volcano Suns, Shellac), don't assume there's much here that will sound like the Yank college rock he produced and recorded; Thus Love are indeed in thrall to British alt rock, specifically that of the Reagan/Thatcher years.
"On the Floor" is an energetic romp through territory largely ruled by Peter Murphy, while "Birthday Song" has a certain spindly appeal. The angular guitars and strained vocals of Echo Mars give these pieces just enough oomph! to achieve flight, though every good track here is woefully and obviously beholden to past giants. The gnarly "Lost in Translation" lowers the temperature with a goth-y breakdown track, though the real highlights of this Thus Love album are mostly the upbeat rockers.
There's a lot of energy being spent in these tracks. Thus Love really seem to be giving this their all, which is admirable, I guess. But maybe it's just that at my age I feel like I've heard about three generations of bands post-Bauhaus try to sound like Bauhaus, and this doesn't really present a new spin on that. At this point, I'd rather hear the real thing again, but thanks for the effort.
All Pleasure by Thus Love is out this week from Captured Tracks.
[Photo: Shervin Lainez]