"...the fuzzy guitar styles of the Jesus & Mary Chain...girl/boy vocal harmonies and classic ’50s and ’60s song structures...this is a really fun seven-song EP. The voices of Heather Flood and Patrick Rijd are spot-on, and Tom Flood’s fuzzy guitar work isn’t over the top, and it fills out the sound really well..." - Exclaim! Magazine
"(Love Kills) have thoroughly perfected the psychocandy wall-of-fuzz...sweetened by Heather Flood's unique, ethereal voice - less like My Bloody Valentine's Bilinda Butcher than a beehived Connie Francis on pills..." - NOW Magazine
"…Love Kills have a great energy, and their songs -- including the ones on their new EP, Carry Me Home -- have a very appealing rawness…('Suicide') will get stuck in your head for days on end, without complaint… The EP's title track has a beautiful chorus, and 'It's Leaving Me Down' and 'Now Caroline' quiet things down to let the vocals cut through the sonics. 'Let It Roll' picks things back up and features some of my favourite tambourine here, while 'Give Me Something I Can Love' makes great use of strings. It's solid throughout…Check them out live if you've got the chance; though they acquit themselves well on Carry Me Home, that's where they really shine." - TwoWayMonologues.com
“Just when you thought Toronto had revealed all its secrets, along comes Love Kills, a fantastic little band who have inexplicably failed to attract a buzz despite three promising EPs. Carry Me Home picks up where She’ll Break Your Heart and Teenage Girls left off, mixing heartachingly lovely harmonies with ultra-distorted Jesus and Mary Chain guitars.” – FFWD (Calgary)
“Cop this self-made EP by shoegaze pop emissaries of the ultra-hip Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood. Then proceed into too-cool local haunts like Sweaty Betty's or the Communist's Daughter like you own the place.” – [NOW Magazine names Carry Me Home EP one of five best indie releases for 2008]
"Love Kills are apparently breaking up next week. They should have gotten over this the week before NXNE instead and saved innocent onlookers from this excruciating performance....The show deteriorated into a tense battle of wills between singer/guitarist Pat Rijd and the rest of the band. From rolling his eyes at song requests to ending each song with a prolonged burst of guitar feedback (my ear drums thank you for that, prick), Rijd succeeded in whatever passive-aggressive quest he was on to sabotage the gig." - Chart Magazine
"Heather Flood’s vocals were a nice melodic counterpoint to the bludgeoning volume and feedback of Love Kills’s two Will Reid-worshipping guitarists." - NOW Magazine
heather flood.vocals.
pat rijd.vocals, guitar.
tom flood.guitar.
mark bergshoeff.bass guitar.
jay talsma.drums.
CELERY MAGAZINE talks to LOVE KILLS
Jackie: How did you guys get your start?
Mark: We met in high school. Well actually, Tom and I have known each other for almost twenty years now.
Tom: Yeah, we met when we were like six or seven.
Jackie: That’s crazy!
Mark: Totally! Anyway, Tom and I got guitars together when we were younger. We really didn’t do anything, we mostly played in our bedrooms…(laughs).
Tom: Then we met Pat and Jay in grade nine and the four of us started jamming. We started this band called Girl Next Door, it was sort of 50s pop music. We were pretty good, it still gets played at parties and on road trips, definitely crowd pleasing music.
Mark: Then Pat moved away and we broke up, but then he came back!
Tom: Yeah so then we brought my sister in, she was an awesome singer and Pat and her sounded really great together and that was Love Kills.
Jackie: I have to ask, what’s with the stand-up kick drum?
Jay: It’s a lot easier to play and also louder.
Heather: We used to have a full set up at first but it was way too much monkey business!
Jay: Yeah and also my leg was getting tired! No, but really our songs lend themselves better to simple drum beats and this works better for us.
Jackie: Love Kills, is that a nod to Freddie Mercury?
Pat: Well, I think we all listened to our share of Freddie Mercury…
Mark: But I think Pat just said it one day, I can’t exactly remember how we came up with that.
Heather: I still want to change our name to Utrecht, I think that’s an awesome name! I wasn’t there when they came up with Love Kills…they’re always having secret meetings.
Jackie: You guys have been described as ‘shoegaze’. Do you think that’s an accurate description of your style?
Pat: We definitely listened to a lot of that music, but personally I don’t think we sound like that at all. Our vocals are pretty soft. Otherwise, I don’t really know where that came from.
Mark: I think one person described us that way and now everyone thinks of us that way.
Jackie: Any plans for a tour?
Heather: Not yet, we just did two London shows, that’s about the extent of the traveling we do. It’s tricky cause some people have real jobs at this point but I mean if there was an opportunity to do it…
Mark: Yeah and someone to pay for it!
Heather: If someone was just like here you go (laughs) we wouldn’t turn that down.
Jackie: You guys seem like family – well some of you are family (laughs) – do you guys ever fight?
Jay: Words are exchanged…
Heather: We just bitch behind each other’s backs, it works out well!
Tom: Mark is definitely the peace-keeper, he just calms people down and keeps everything together.
Heather: I tend to be a bit moody (laughs). But yeah, sometimes it’s hard, I mean Pat has the vision in the band, he has a really good idea of what he wants and sure sometimes we’re all a little ‘blah, I don’t want to be here’ but we’ve been recording some new stuff lately and it’s been really really good.
Jackie: Is it weird being the only girl in the band?
Tom: Heather is like the mother hen, she packs us lunch, takes care of us, makes sure we’re fed.
Heather: Well when everyone is coming straight to practice after work, you need to eat something.
Jackie: Where do you get the inspiration for your music?
Pat: Mostly old rock and roll, some punk, Jesus and Mary Chain. I like the sort of faux old style Rock and Roll. As for the harmonies in our music, a lot of my favourite songs had two part harmonies in them - a lot of early Beatles music, Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel as well.
Heather: Pat is totally brilliant, I mean he has so much stuff in his head, we only get to see a little bit. Sometimes he’ll start to play a little something for me and I’ll be like, that’s amazing! But then we won’t see that song ever again. I think he does it just to drive me crazy (laughs). When I say he has endless songs he really does, there’s never any drought for new amazing material!
Jackie: Well that’s good to hear!
Heather: Totally!
Jackie: What are your hopes for Love Kills?
Heather: I want to go on tour in a big van! I’m not setting my goals too high, but I think that’s a good goal for us, a bus, a little tour.
Mark: Playing on VH1 would be awesome.
Jay: Yeah a couple years run doing this full time, I mean that’s as good as it gets.
Yelllooo!! What's happenin? We're playing a show that we actually need people at! It's at the Mod Club on Saturday (Aug. 23rd). We go on at ten....if you could make it that would be really special. Get in touch for guest list action!
The Psychotropical invasion in Toronto @ Lula Lounge!!!!! Don’t miss the chance to see two of the most innovative and original Latin bands of the moment. Psychotropical Orchestra from Montreal and Cumbia Queers all the way from Argentina!! 18th July 10 pm. @ Lula Lounge 1585 Dundas St. W For only 10 dlls.!!!!!!!
Great review of the NXNE show at The Supermarket in this issue of Now Magazine 'Heather Flood's vocals were a nice melodic counterpoint to the bludgeoning volume and feedback of LK's two Will Reid-worshipping guitarists'
My friends, I hope you're not exhausted of live music after NXNE, because I'd like to personally invite you for a drink and a smile at our musical party this Thursday, June 19th at Sneaky Dee's. We'll be accompanied by a couple of very energetic & powerful bands (ADA & The Isosceles Project) that will make for an especially high-caliber soirée.
If you're curious about details or want to invite others, here's the event listing (I assure you this link is not hazardous): http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=21522645916
Thank you immensely, guys. You're good people; please persist in your collective goodness.
Peace, respect & good karma. -ivory tree observatory
"An artist is someone who produces things that people don't need to have but that he - for some reason - thinks it would be a good idea to give them." Andy Warhol
so on that note , here is a reminder to all U U's out there in myspaceland ..........incase you didnt know
or receive the cordial invitation ............. our new little debut EP "Phazes" is out and available to U
for a limited time free dowload ! ! !
it is 4 your listening Pleasuah
:> VV
PS if you already have downloaded or have a copy, then thanks a gazillion, and thanks for being a power animal
Looking forward to catching you at NXNE - what day are you playing? Hopefully not the same time as us (Fri June 13 @ midnight @ Savannah Room) - it seems most of the bands we want to see are playing the same night as us... anyway, LOVE the sound!
That was a great set at Rancho Relaxo. The adoring crowd turned-out in full force, as the band unleashed trippy-pyrotechnics, thumping percussion, amazing harmonies, and ethereal beauty. Love Kills is a band that embodies vision, cool, and dare I say, revolution. Well done.
Online Now!
