A charming genre-spanning sound resonates throughout Love Is The Revolution, the third album from M4TR, the Washington D.C.-based venture led by songwriter and producer AJ Solaris. His earlier work has artfully conveyed protest and political commentary, poignant inside “a time when every thing feels prefer it may collapse at any second,” Solaris says. This newest album as a substitute exudes a way of hope for like to prevail via all of the tumult. As Solaris explains: “But when love is the one factor that may pull us again from the brink, then what alternative do we have now however to maintain reaching for it?”
A stirring opener that captures the album’s thematic ethos, “Let Love Flip This World Round” fuses danceable electro-pop and hovering rock theatrics amidst lyrical drives to embrace emotion and vulnerability. “Let tears circulation like a summer season rain, and let love flip this world round,” Solaris sings throughout the magnetic central hook, bolstered by brass-y hints and luxurious backing vocal harmonies. The following “Hooks” reminds fondly of Erasure in its acoustic shimmers, funky bass, and contagious pop arrival — pleading “don’t take your hooks out of me, don’t toss me again within the sea.” The lyrical embrace of infatuation melds inside a bouncy pop attract for one among many replay-inducing successes inside Love Is The Revolution.
One other standout observe, “No Tomorrow” conveys a craving to “love like no tomorrow” in persevering with the album’s embrace of affection/adoration. Shimmering guitar traces and a funk-tinged bass line attraction alongside the colourful vocal ascents — enjoyably paying homage to Squeeze’s throwback funk/electro infusions, whereas additionally taking part in as a nod to “Chilly Warfare 80s synthpop via a contemporary filter.” One other stylistic success completely arises with “Siren Tune.” Bouncy piano and clap-laden percussion builds into buzzing bass-synth nostalgia, whereas the “strive stepping inside my thoughts” sequence stirs particularly in its theatrical trip-hop immersion.
The invigorating disco-ready single “Life With out Her” additionally enthralls in its grooving immediacy. “Now you’re dwelling life with out her,” gripping vocal layers exude throughout the observe’s principal hook, among the finest on an album filled with implausible hooks. The refined synth and bass shifts envelop into a pleasant guitar-friendly second half, capped off by a cool flash of throwback enjoyable. The album’s title observe is one other winner, embracing an unique, symphonic mystique as strings and colourful percussion complement radiant vocals that advance right into a “love is a revolution” repeating mantra. The album dazzles in its positively affecting thematic output — emphasizing the ability of affection inside our hectic world — and melodically dynamic productions.
