The Love Language

The Love Language
Origin Raleigh, North Carolina
Genres Indie, lo-fi, pop
Years active 2008-present
Labels Bladen County
Merge
Associated acts The light pines
The Rosebuds
Website www.thelovelanguage.com

The Love Language is an indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina headed by Stuart McLamb.

Contents

Origin

The Love Language began amidst a torrent of quarter-life crises and angst. Following a split with his band, The Capulets, Stuart McLamb and his girlfriend broke up and he fell into a serious drinking binge which ended in him waking up with his extremities bound. McLamb retreated to his parents' house where he began recording the emotional demos that would spawn The Love Language.[1] While recording personal songs meant to be heard only by his ex-girlfriend and a handful of friends,[2] McLamb hit a creative vein, fueling the transition from small experiment to full-blown recording project.[3] A band was later formed in order to play live shows.

Music

The Love Language combines bleeding-heart pop, lo-fi energy, and bubbly instrumentals to create intelligent and endearing tracks.
McLamb's eponymous first album, The Love Language, met some critical praise after its release to Bladen County Records; David Menconi of Spin Magazine wrote, "McLamb's songs -- a mix of moody piano ballads and bouncy guitar rock -- are aching love letters to his ex that combine the emotional directness of Big Star with the raw immediacy of Guided by Voices."[1] Recorded entirely by McLamb, the album caught the attention of fellow North Carolina rockers, The Rosebuds, who asked if The Love Language would open for them. A band was then formed with Missy Thangs (keyboard) and Stuart's brother, Jordan McLamb (drums).[3]

They were subsequently signed to Durham-based Merge Records, which released their second album Libraries in July, 2010. Unlike the first album, "Libraries" was recorded in a traditional studio with help from producer BJ Burton. Though Stuart wanted to keep the energy of the lo-fi sound, he noted of Libraries in an interview with Creative Loafing that "you've got a lot of raw emotion of the first record and vibrancy in spirit, but I lacked some of the engineering expertise for better or worse. On the second one, I did it in a studio with an engineer who I was able to work with very well. He made it an equally enjoyable process."[3] Burton was also recruited to play guitar while touring along with Missy, Jordan, and Justin Rodermond (bass), an old friend of McLamb's.

Discography

Year Album details Peak chart positions
US Heat
2008 The Love Language
  • Release date: March 10, 2009
  • Label: Bladen County Records
 —
2010 Libraries 14

References

  1. ^ a b Hot New Band: The Love Language, interview with Spin magazine
  2. ^ The Love Language, the love language at Merge Records
  3. ^ a b c The Love Language: Stu McLamb's Take on Pop, interview with Crib Notes of "Creative Loafing"

External links