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Aug 18, 2020 Web Exclusive By Jennifer Irving

NZCA LINES, the indie synth pop project of Michael Lovett, makes disco club music for the apocalypse. On his third release, Pure Luxury, everything is bolder, funkier, and more out of this world. With album opener “Pure Luxury” sounding like it could fit right in on a video game soundtrack and follower “Real Good Time” giving Halloween disco-rave vibes, Lovett saturates his songs with so many elements it may seem like too much, but it never is.

Despite so many danceable club bangers, the album remains full of emotion, Lovett arguably becoming more vulnerable going down the tracklist. On “Take This Apart,” the only stripped down song on the album, he grieves for an ending relationship, begging to “let me follow you back to the start.” Moments like these do even more than show a more intimate side of Lovett himself; they also give the groovier dance songs emotional footing that may not exist without it.

Some themes walk the line between being inventive and overdone, but stay just close enough to the former to feel fresh yet familiar. “For Your Love” is an ’80s-influenced heavy ballad for modern pop lovers despite dipping its toes into overly cheesy territory. Then songs like “Larsen” come along later on the album, diving deeper into modern themes. The track finds Lovett mourning the degradation of the Earth, specifically when the Larsen C ice shelf broke off of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2017. “Don’t you wanna save your daughter from the world that you created for her,” Lovett cries out amidst a pop rock guitar sequence for the ages. The balance between these two songs is just what makes Pure Luxury so special. Mixing classic disco tropes with modern ideals gives the album a unique perspective, making it a definite standout for the year. (www.nzca-lines.com)

Author rating: 8/10