From note one this is enjoyable. “Summer Love” opens the record with great energy, and although influences are listed like Alvvays which it definitely shares elements of I find it far more retro than that. It’s like an indie rock version of the Go-Go’s. Songs like Killing Desire certainly aren’t breaking new ground with melodies and harmonies you’ve probably heard a thousand times in pop music since the 1960’s but the band puts it together in a very enjoyable way. The band definitely has a little bit of a 90’s Belly or Lush vibe. This sounds so British and I had to relook at my notes to make sure I was correct that it was from Canada. The male vocals that come in as backing vocals and more of main vocal in “So In Love” is a nice change up by track four to keep the album from being repetitive. The production is stellar across every track. It takes until about track 7 “Dagger” for the tone of the album to change at all, a slightly darker tune. Some very solid throwback nods to 60’s melodies is what I enjoy the most about this. In “Don’t Walk Away” just for the verse the melody is exactly “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy” by Ohio Express and possibly a hundred other songs. I would think that is a completely unintentional thing that probably just shows up when you are a fan of 60’s pop. I am completely aware of Alvvays and other Canadian bands that that are in this vein and they tend to only borrow from the last few decades and one of the things I really like about this is the throwback to 60’s pop and melodies but revamped with better production, more energy but holding onto the minimal song structure that is 100% sugary sweet pop. My only criticisms are that the end of the album “When Morning Comes” and “Never Give In” don’t quite feel like they fit with everything else and the title track “Save My Heart” I was itching, just waiting for a 60’s back beat to kick in and it never does. Aside from those moments towards the back end of the album it’s a very solid effort and worth checking out.
- Sam Lowry