aaamusic | On 09, Aug 2010

Out today is Ali Love’s full-length debut, Love Harder. You may recognize the name – though this is Love’s first actual album, over the past few years he’s released a few well-received singles, as well as collaborating with the Chemical Brothers. Existing fans will be relieved then to find that his latest release lives up to the reputation he’s built for himself – Love Harder is, put simply, a great album. At times it’s easy to forget this is a debut; Love’s sheer confidence seems fitting to that of a more seasoned musician.

Opening with titular track Love Harder, Love quickly establishes the sound he’s aiming for here – that is, falling somewhere between a throwback to ‘80s dance music and decidedly modern electro-pop. It works well, particularly in standout tracks Done The Dirty and Talk To Tokyo. The aforementioned 1980s sound is obviously a big influence on this artist, in more ways than one – Show Me is less a dance track, more a re-vamped take on arena rock of the past. Love Harder proves that style and substance can not only co-exist, but bounce off each other perfectly. My only criticism is that at times certain tracks can feel a bit repetitious when played immediately after one another; some rhythms are just too similar to those found in previous songs. This is only a small hiccup in what is essentially an excellent record, and certainly isn’t a debilitating problem for Love. This is an extremely impressive debut album, and one I definitely recommend, even if you aren’t a huge fan of dance music.

Author: Katharine Sparks