Love Amongst Ruin - Love Amongst Ruin

Love Amongst Ruin, AKA Steve Hewitt from Placebo’s new band.  We all remember Placebo; those dark, angsty rockers that delighted us in the late 90s with gems like Nancy Boy and Pure Morning.  Amongst their tracks there was always a slick, modern gloss of cool lacquered over a beating heart that hinted at something much more grim and mysterious.  And so it’s only natural that Hewitt’s new efforts channel many of the same feelings and sounds.

The band’s self-titled debut album has a gritty dirtiness to it, the foreboding wash of a grey rainy day, perhaps showcased best on the sprawling seven minute long Come On Say It.  Fans of bands like The XX and The Cure will find plenty to love in the expansive and, at times, frightening soundscapes on offer here.  Whispered vocals and delicate, trembling guitar work echoes into the listener’s ears, beckoning you in - a crooked finger of promise that hints at the pleasure repeat listens will reward you with.  It’s a call you are powerless to resist.

Love Amongst Ruin are more than just another rock band, they represent a vision; a portrait of raw feeling captured in a collection of songs that as you explore further into the album manifests itself as a dramatic mix of textures and flavours.  The aforementioned down-tempo tracks stand side by side with frantic, energetic numbers.  There’s a keen sense of melody too, really shining across on the single Home in particular as a throbbing bassline builds into a snarled, anthemic chorus.  Album opener So Sad(Fade) is another definite highlight.  It’s moments like these where the band really hit their stride; coming across like a smart, polished, yet utterly sinister cousin of Nine Inch Nails or 30 Seconds to Mars.

This is not a happy album; it is one of desolation, passion and anger. But through all these emotions there always comes the consistency of excellent production values and the sound of a band that is utterly sure in themselves about what they want to create.  The result is highly refreshing in that nothing feels rushed – there are no songs here that feel like they’ve been shoved on the LP just to make up the running time.  There is none of that stagnant quality that can plague so many rock albums. Instead we have pure quality, a band with a vision and the skills to achieve it.

Out now