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Written by Rebecca Reardon Monday, 20 August 2007 14:18

Their bandmates didn't appreciate Light and Blonde's makeout sessions during practice, so the duo became The Lovemakers, and built itself a following from Oakland to San Francisco.

Did you ever hear a band that stirred up memories of your radio-listening childhood? Pop in The Lovemakers' new EP Misery Loves Company and get ready for an epic ride into yesteryear. By their own admission, The Bee Gees influenced The Lovemakers' sound, as did '90s shoegaze and the Oakland underground. I hear more than a hint of '80s synth pop, myself. I'm talking Kajagoogoo fluff, especially in the track "Whine and Dine." It's pretty tasty just the same, like musical cotton candy.

The Lovemakers are Lisa Light (songwriter, vocals, bass, violin) and Scott Blonde (vocals, guitar). The current lineup also includes drummer Ken Hard and keyboardist/computer musician Brandon Arnovick. Story goes, Blonde romanced Light away from his record store manager in 2002. The smitten Light then juggled a job at a marine biology lab and a gig as a violinist with a traveling circus to play violin for Blonde's band Applesaucer. But their bandmates didn't appreciate Light and Blonde's makeout sessions during practice, so the duo became The Lovemakers, and built itself a following from Oakland to San Francisco. They even released an album with Interscope in 2005, but eventually parted ways with their major label. Now with Fuzz, The Lovemakers ambitiously plan to release a new EP every six or seven months, including a video for every song.

Oh, yes. The Lovemakers' EP includes videos! They're not the high-budget stuff you'd see on MTV, but seriously, who cares? Videos take chutzpah! I am on The Lovemakers side, simply for their videos. Everyone on their crew worked for free, can you imagine? The video for "Misery Loves Company" was shot in Light's house with a prop budget of $50 that covered a severed pig head. Your curiosity is piqued, is it not? Yes! The plot is familiar, but hey, Light and Blonde look pretty awesome. Although after watching the video for "Whine and Dine," I have to go on the record against low-rise jeans for guys.

So what do you say, buy the multimedia Misery Loves Company and show The Lovemakers some butt-shakin' love. B+ | Rebecca Reardon

RIYL: The Like, The New Pornographers, Shocking Blue