All Pleasure. Thus Love

Listening to All Pleasure my first idea was this is another cheeky, new alternative rock band from The Netherlands. It sounds so much like it, with a singer that is laying on his English that little extra. I was very wrong, thousands of kilometers and a lot of water. Thus Love is from Brattleboro in Vermont.

The impact of the album did not change because of this discovery. I really, really like it. Thus Love manages to mix alternative rock, a little emo and a punky attitude with what I opt to call compassion and optimism. Somehow singer Echo Mars (they/them) manages to put it all into his voice. The music reflects it all.

Thus Love has released its second album recently. Mars and drummer Lu Racine (he/they) are joined by new members bassist Ally Juleen (she/they) and guitarist/keyboardist Shane Blank (he/him). Listening to their album, they are ready to take on the world. All made from the motto “If it's not joyful, don't do it.” It shows.

Slowly but surely I am becoming convinced that it is becoming impossible to create truly new music in rock music. There are decades of it by now and children learn songs from their grandparents and some of them may have inherited the music from their parents. The difference with me growing up is that nearly everything is available to youngsters for free. Even when they don't really like the music, I notice that they like an awful lot, from all sorts of genres and times. Why am I writing this? Because it all shines through so evidently on All Pleasure. Although I'll put the album in the alternative rock corner with a little postpunk here and there, this band knows a lot of great pop songs as well. It is what makes most songs on All Pleasure shine and sparkle.

Photo: Shervin Lainez

I am going to take single 'Birthday Song' as an example. It starts with a slightly fuzzed guitar and then Mars starts singing and we are taken to pop heaven. The light and the shade is all over Birthday Song. The voice is mixed right up front making sure the light prevails in every way. It is an example that can be taken to any of the songs. When a female voice is added to Echo Mars' in 'All Pleasure' the fun only grows and grows. The music may develop towards a Green Day style song without the punk attack, a glam Bowie appears to be discarded for a more relaxed part of the song and when Ally Juleen adds an Air style bass playing mixed with angel styled ahh ahh background vocals by Mars, the song takes off into the stratosphere. To never return, as it's mixed out slowly.

There's simply nothing that I can add that would explain the quality of All Pleasure better. Yes, some songs are tougher than the example, but just as good. Go out and find out for yourself. This is an extremely promising album, recorded in a barn home studio in Vermont. It's all Thus Love needed to record a great album.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

You can listen to and order All Pleasure here:

https://thuslove.bandcamp.com/album/all-pleasure