Love Inks - Exi

Auch auf dem dritten Album der Love Inks reagiert der Minimalismus. Sanft singt Sherry LeBlanc über dezent vor sich hin pluckernde Beats einer Rhythmusmaschine, gelegentlich streut eine Gitarre einen Melodiebogen ein oder gesellt sich ein monotoner Basslauf hinzu. Fertig ist die unaufgeregte, aufs äußerste reduzierte Mischung aus The xx, Beach House und Young Marble Giants. 

Das Trio aus Austin, Texas, besteht aus Kevin Dehan, Sherry LeBlanc und Zach Biggs, veröffentlichte bereits "E.S.P." (2011) und "Generation Club" (2013) und wird mit den 10 Songs von "Exi" sicherlich bei niemandem den Puls nach oben treiben oder am Einschlafen hindern. Eher im Gegenteil.   

Their latest release Exi is 10 tracks of uncomplicated, but gorgeous music. It’s also a challenge to write about Love Inks, since the music is so bare, so raw and so primal. However, parts of the record are instantly hummable: “Shoot 100 Panes of Glass”, the LP’s first song, has a memorable chorus: “Give me a break / Give me your lungs hollowed out,” sings LeBlance with laidback urgency. “Dawn / Poem” could almost pass for a Yo La Tengo song from And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out. It’s glacial, but crystalline. Very pretty.

The album’s sole miscue is “Text Message”, a noise rock instrumental with discordant guitars that has an ear-piercing hum running underneath the track. It’s an experiment, but one that would have been best left in the studio. However, Exi is an intriguing listen, for Love Inks reduce popular music to naked elements, and yet remains tuneful throughout. This is the sort of thing that is inspired by summer breezes, and the band makes some hay with just a few elements. That bedroom aesthetic is pleasing, and not just run-of-the-mill. The album is grounded in modern indie rock, and is duly lo-fi: you can hear tape hiss now and then, as though it were virtually an instrument in and of itself. For those who want to wander out of your comfort zone, and hear what just a voice and a couple of instruments can do in a quiet and laid-back manner, Exi will undoubtedly hit the spot, and is a great addition to the pantheon of minimal music.
(PopMatters)

EXI, Album Nummer drei, reduziert das Reduzierte noch ein bisschen mehr. Die Stimme von Sängerin Sherry LeBlanc bleibt die Konstante in dieser Musik, sie erzeugt diesen gewissen (dream-)poppigen Faktor. Die Songs des texanischen Trios sind wie leicht flüchtige Lösungsmittel, Love Inks müssen aufpassen, dass ihre Musik nicht unmerklich in die Luft aufsteigt und verdunstet.
(Musikexpress)

As ever with Love Inks, it’s difficult not to think of Young Marble Giants when the indie veterans’ ideas are co-opted so efficiently, but to reduce the younger band to post-punk pilferers is to denigrate their knack for excellent songs. “Give me a break / Give me your lungs hollowed out,” goes opener Shoot 100 Panes Of Glass, where subtle character sketches lend morose beauty to a compelling hook. Meanwhile Kevin Dehan’s subtly-deployed basslines lend propulsion to the sterling title track; bewitching brilliance for lamplit nights alone.
(The Skinny)

Love Inks in Deutschland:
20.12.14 Berlin, Karrera Klub