The Bloody Lovelies

Some truth and a little money

Cheap Lullaby

Can you name a band that was played on nearly 50 leading radio stations in the U.S., had its bassist featured on the Tonight Show, and had over 110-thousand downloads from a single website, all before being signed to any record label? No? How about The Bloody Lovelies? With their refreshing retro pop rock sound and enormous musical talent the Lovelies have breathed life into their first album, “Some Truth and a Little Money.”

Originally formed as a college band on the University of Tennessee- Nashville by vocalist Randy Wooten, the Lovelies have come a long way in solidifying their presence as something to take note of. The quartet consists of songwriter/vocalist Wooten, Eric Holden on bass, Craig Macintyre supplying percussion and Lance Konerth on guitar. Besides the musical instruments the Lovelies list wit, charm, and machismo as contributing factors that they each bring to the music, which though may be in jest, are some attributes some contemporary artists lack.

With a sound comparable to a synthesis of Pink Floyd with a little bit of Cake, the Lovelies successfully combine the old and the new into something wholly their own.

The tracks on “Some Truth…” run the gamut from boisterous and energetic to moody and mellow. From their opening track “Hologram” with its classic rock sound, vocal fading techniques, and its sunshine sound to “You Could Die” which hits the heart somewhere close to Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” with its weeping guitar holds and emotionally heavy lyrics.

Their one radio hit, as of yet, is the second track on the disc, “You Don’t Love Me.” The song’s beat is set by a light piano that sets a simplistic tone to the song easing the listener into the sweeping up-beat refrains. With the slightly nasal, melodic whine of Wooten’s crystal clear vocals this song has a catchy sound to it that guarantees that it has potential to be an ear-bug.

“Star” leads in with Holden laying down a jazzy backbeat, which Wooten overlays with breathy tones. The song soars at points as Wooten hollers about the effects, good and bad, of being a star.

Coming off of the egomaniacal rant of “Star,” their next track “Lonely Town” is a heart-crushing ballad sung with a depth and range of voice yet to be heard on this disc. Its sound flows like ink, suffusing the air with a sad sort of audio mist. The lyrics tell a story that is commonly enough tried by musicians, but the Lovelies supply, the breakup song with a sort of self-indulgent anguish that hurts to hear but feels all too familiar.

True to form the Lovelies change things up yet again, with a short track entitled, “3-days.” The track seems to be the manic stage after a particularly low depression; it is loaded with high-note guitar riffs and jiving rock bass solos, with vocals too match.

To “cloud nine” and back again in less than a heartbeat, “Square” pours out as a neutral track with soothing lyrical tones and placid guitar accompaniment. Though the track is about being lame and dreams that stem from being socially marginalized, the ascending hold lyrics drag the song into a slightly happier place than neutral despite the semantics pessimism of its words.

Enough emotional jostling was enough and the Lovelies give listeners a rest with the mellow track “Dreams.” With a somewhat jolly piano and heavy bass beats this song is a breath of mellow tones that gives a needed break before more serious topics are to be confronted.

By far the best guitar solos of the entire track appear in “The Money Song,” which aptly refrains in the clich