Matthew Edwards - Vocal, Guitar
Jon Brooder - Bass, Harmonica
Bryan Cain - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Kate Weeks - Viola, percussion, keyboards
Ping Chu- Drums
and sometimes:
Jun Kurihara - Vocals, Accordion, Piano
Influences
Serge Gainsbourg, Dusty Springfield, Prefab Sprout, The Zombies, Sparks, The Brill Building, Marvin and Tami, The Smiths, Roxy Music, Jimmy Webb, 'Hunky Dory' era Bowie, John Cassavettes, Fairport Convention, Phil Spector, John Cale, Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Bad Seeds, Scott 4, Go-Betweens, Teardrop Explodes, Girl Groups, Elvis in Memphis '70, Laura Nyro, Sly and Robbie, 'Oliver,' Goffin and King, Orton and Halliwell, Tim Hardin, Big Star, Muscle Shoals, The Clash, The Kinks, Sly Stone, Nick Tosches, Wyndham Lewis, Jackie De Shannon, Pulp, Charles Willeford,Curtis Mayfield
Sounds Like
The first three months of a new love affair forever, or seven years in jail for a crime of passion.
Our video for the song 'Masculine, Feminine' from our soon-to-be-released album of the same name. Directed by our dear friend Margaret Cho :
WORD MAGAZINE 01/07
We at THE WORD fell discreetly in love with The Music Lovers - San
Francisco-based, Birmingham/Brixton-born, Bacharach-marinaded and probably unique in pop - when their debut CD arrived last year. With their
gin-spritzed string arrangements and cocktail-bar melancholy, they came off
like a Rat Pack version of Lloyd Cole. Japanese pianist-accordionist Jun
Kurihara now replaces the Brixton component, bassist Jon Brooder, and for
some reason they rock somewhat harder, *Plain Boyish* and *The Sailor And
You* roaring past like a Vegas Morrissey. But grand, glossy and slightly
seedy ballads like *The Sea And The Sun* are what really sets them apart.
That, and the sense of literature-deranged mission: singer Matthew "Ted"
Edwards eulogises Maoist minimalist composer Cornelius Cardew, transplants
Jean Genet to Birkenhead and suggests we throw in our petty jobs for a
precarious life in pursuit of pop perfection. The way he sings it, it
doesn't sound like a bad idea at all.
ALL MUSIC GUIDE Review 11/06
"4 stars.. After a listen to The Music Lovers.. Guide for Young People one thing is certain, the Music Lovers do indeed love music, to be more specific, the golden age of U.K.-based pop music that first bloomed in the mid-..80s with artists like Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, Prefab Sprout, and the Bluebells, and which was later perfected in the late ..80s and early ..90s by bands such as the Trash Can Sinatras and the Beautiful South. Like them, the Music Lovers are hopelessly heartbroken and romantic, literate almost to a fault, and totally committed to being as sophisticated as possible at all times both lyrically and musically. Indeed, the sound of Guide for Young People is rich and warm; the chiming guitars and restrained drumming that form the foundation are backed by a rotating array of strings, keyboards, and percussion. Above all this float the charming and sophisticated vocals of Matthew Edwards, which are joined by some lovely harmonies and the occasional appearance of Jun Kurihara..s earthy vocals and provide a welcome female viewpoint to balance the restrained male angst."-AMG
'... it's stately cha-cha rhythms and Vegas-grade musical lexicon - bells, orchestras, woodwind, extravagently picked guitars - combine with Edwards love-broken lyrics to suggest a lost Graham Greene novel about seedy Brits shipwrecked in Caesars Palace rather than Port-au-Prince... immaculate' WORD Magazine (UK) Dec '06
'When The 'Lovers craft romantic songs as gorgeous as these, you'll want to stick around for the pillow talk' - MAGNET 2005
Hints of '60s AM-radio fodder regularly poke through the creamy, dreamy layers of piano, acoustic guitar, concertina, strings and mellotron, and the results are seductive.MAGNET 2006
'Gorgeous and knowing work' - AMPLIFIER 2005
Discography Released November 2003 - "Cheap Songs Tell the Truth" EP, Marriage Records/LGM Released November 2004 - "The Words We Say Before We Sleep" Album, Marriage Records/LGM
Released October 5th 2006 - "The Music Lovers Guide for Young People" Album, Le Grand Magistery (Enough-ho, Japan Spring 2008)
Coming on June 13th 2008 - 'Masculine Feminine' Sleeping Star (Italy), and in August on Le Grand Magistery Records USA.
All the Music Lovers records are available from www.darla.com, Amazon, itunes, or you local record emporium!
Your songs are excellent. "Saturday" is especially wonderful. Fantastic work!
Enjoy Horatio's glorious new song:
Please spread the word about how Horatio Lee Jenkins' exceptional drinking abilities allowed him to humiliate Satan. So many lives could be touched and uplifted by his fabulous story and beautiful song.
And get "Drunker Than Satan"! It is amazing!
Thank you, Deacon Frederick Leroy Elroy Smith
P.S.-Enjoy the glorious video for "Drunker Than Satan":
not a problem. ive just been listening to a song or two of yours on myspace. very good!! i would quite like to come and support you in gigs etc. let me know what you can do. all the best. cheers alan x
Inscris-toi gratuitement sur www. b-stream. com pour voir le concert en direct de chez toi !!! de Lala Power Madchester Fever Mais inscrit toi dés maintenant , le concert c'est jeudi 5 juin . Attention les inscriptions seront closes mercredi soir
Ah merci!! I thought of you as well, every plane overhead I imagined was carrying you so I waved. I am glad your flight arrived safely and wish you a sweet, pleasant journey abroad! xx
"blackout" has made the playlist of my radio show this week so cheers to you guys .. hope some new fans find there way to you from the airplay your fan captain mike
Merci beaucoup pour le compliment Monsieur Edwards Je dois dire que votre musique sont sentational et maintenant j'adore "The Music Lovers"...apres j'ai ecoute a "The Blackout" immediatement j'ai achete de musique par l'internet (a grace a iTunes)malheuresement ils n'ont pas "the blackout" deja *soupir*
ben, merci encore et au revoir Eliot
PS Pardonnez-moi pour ma mauvaise francais mais je dois pratiquer quand je peux et j'ai vu des autres 'comments' est en francais
Internet at this weeks house is awfully slow, so I listened to one of your songs from my friends profiles. It's beautiful! Thanks again for the add, really appreciate it.
Dusty, Scott and Nikki caught my eye- as well as my friend Eliot (The night thing) who said you were real good. Thank you for the add, I will listen to your stuff now.
p. s the pictures are mad (like the lion in the field with the rad clothes)
playing tonight at a little antique shop.(called gypsy honey moon in the mission)goes from 6 to8.also don't be hard on my boys.you tend to yours and I will tend to mine. some things can't be helped
WOOOWWW cool! Great! lovely... Thank you! Grazie! merci! danke! NOw you've been "papellized"... hehehe... don't worry... it's nice... hehehe with all our love... papel
