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May 12, 2022 Web Exclusive By Anthony Mark Happel

People in Cars, the third album by London band Curse of Lono was heavily impacted by COVID-19 and, like a lot of others, its trajectory was affected, as was the band itself, when the members acquired day jobs and leader Felix Bechtolsheimer was forced to proceed as “more of a solo project.” He rallied his faculties and pushed forward and made “the record I needed to make.”

Their name is inspired by the late Hunter S. Thompson, and you can hear some of the dark, irreverent dissolution and seriousness that pervades Thompson’s work from the outset, and that is likely how the phrase “southern gothic” was tacked on to them. But that carries such specific connotations and is far too narrow a descriptor. First single and opening track, “Let Your Love Rain Down,” is a bass- and drum-driven paean with an ethereal baritone vocal that is like a quiet, dignified plea more than a celebratory exclamation, and it demonstrates the ability to convey seriousness and deep emotion without a lot of fanfare.

“So Damned Beautiful,” featuring Tess Parks, who at times sounds like the offspring of Patti Smith and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, is a throbbing tone poem that becomes a woozy psych-blues duet, and their voices gel quite well. And “Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride” is a slippery rocker with a great echoey guitar running through it. People in Cars has a soft sheen of resolution and rebirth about it, and it is another example of survival and persistence we can look to for inspiration. (www.curseoflonoband.com)

Author rating: 7/10