Search - Love As Laughter :: Holy

The musical equivalent of a pleasant day at the beach

loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 07/22/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The high hopes I had for "Holy" were dashed about half way through my initial listen of this sixth release by Love as Laughter. The pent up energy and heightened focus more evident from their earlier work has mostly dissipated, and instead we have the musical equivalent of a pleasant day at the beach--pretty and pleasant without much substance.



The leisurely feel and pace of most of the tracks, the imprecise, "what the heck" lyrics, and a sense of that singer/songwriter Sam Jayne is serving as the narrator make this a pleasant list--a musical sangria. But a little goes a long way, and the title track Holy doesn't really whet the appetite. The rest of the album zig zags from the discordant Paul Revere to the somewhat plodding Konny and Jim, on to the sunshiny pleasant Peace and the whimsical Coconut Flakes before ending on a low note with the disheveled final track Bonnie and Clyde (yikes, that horn arrangement is painful).



At least the band has thrown itself full tilt into this new direction and fashioned the best tribute I've heard to music of Poi Dog Pondering. Yes, it's worth a listen, but I'm holding out for a return to form on the next Love as Laughter release, whenever that may be.

"