The Love Language
Encyclopedia
The Love Language is an indie rock
band from Raleigh, North Carolina
headed by Stuart McLamb.
McLamb's eponymous first album, The Love Language, met some critical praise after its release to Bladen County Records; David Menconi of Spin Magazine wrote, "McLamb's songs -- a mix of moody piano ballads and bouncy guitar rock -- are aching love letters to his ex that combine the emotional directness of Big Star with the raw immediacy of Guided by Voices." Recorded entirely by McLamb, the album caught the attention of fellow North Carolina rockers, The Rosebuds
, who asked if The Love Language would open for them. A band was then formed with Missy Thangs (keyboard) and Stuart's brother, Jordan McLamb (drums).
They were subsequently signed to Durham
-based Merge Records
, which released their second album Libraries in July, 2010. Unlike the first album, "Libraries" was recorded in a traditional studio with help from producer BJ Burton. Though Stuart wanted to keep the energy of the lo-fi sound, he noted of Libraries in an interview with Creative Loafing that "you've got a lot of raw emotion of the first record and vibrancy in spirit, but I lacked some of the engineering expertise for better or worse. On the second one, I did it in a studio with an engineer who I was able to work with very well. He made it an equally enjoyable process." Burton was also recruited to play guitar while touring along with Missy, Jordan, and Justin Rodermond (bass), an old friend of McLamb's.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
headed by Stuart McLamb.
Origin
The Love Language began amidst a torrent of quarter-life crises and angst. Following a split with his band, The Capulets, Stuart McLamb and his girlfriend broke up and he fell into a serious drinking binge which ended in him waking up with his extremities bound. McLamb retreated to his parents' house where he began recording the emotional demos that would spawn The Love Language. While recording personal songs meant to be heard only by his ex-girlfriend and a handful of friends, McLamb hit a creative vein, fueling the transition from small experiment to full-blown recording project. A band was later formed in order to play live shows.Music
The Love Language combines bleeding-heart pop, lo-fi energy, and bubbly instrumentals to create intelligent and endearing tracks.McLamb's eponymous first album, The Love Language, met some critical praise after its release to Bladen County Records; David Menconi of Spin Magazine wrote, "McLamb's songs -- a mix of moody piano ballads and bouncy guitar rock -- are aching love letters to his ex that combine the emotional directness of Big Star with the raw immediacy of Guided by Voices." Recorded entirely by McLamb, the album caught the attention of fellow North Carolina rockers, The Rosebuds
The Rosebuds
The Rosebuds are an indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Its current members are Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp...
, who asked if The Love Language would open for them. A band was then formed with Missy Thangs (keyboard) and Stuart's brother, Jordan McLamb (drums).
They were subsequently signed to Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
-based Merge Records
Merge Records
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...
, which released their second album Libraries in July, 2010. Unlike the first album, "Libraries" was recorded in a traditional studio with help from producer BJ Burton. Though Stuart wanted to keep the energy of the lo-fi sound, he noted of Libraries in an interview with Creative Loafing that "you've got a lot of raw emotion of the first record and vibrancy in spirit, but I lacked some of the engineering expertise for better or worse. On the second one, I did it in a studio with an engineer who I was able to work with very well. He made it an equally enjoyable process." Burton was also recruited to play guitar while touring along with Missy, Jordan, and Justin Rodermond (bass), an old friend of McLamb's.
Discography
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
||
| 2008 | The Love Language
|
— |
| 2010 | Libraries
Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records... |
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