LOVE IS NOISE is an exercise in empathy, both lyrically and musically. The band’s Century Media debut, To live in a different way, straddles the roughshod riffing and volume of their DIY origins while embracing shoegaze-facing melodiousness, hints of Brit-pop, and a beating (and bleeding) heart erupting from Cam Humphrey’s plaintive vocals.
Co-produced by the band with engineer Kel Pinchin and mixed by John Markson (Drug Church, Drain, The Story So Far), To live in a different way is a startling debut album. From the opening track, “Devotion,” where Humphrey’s voice invokes passion and positivity, to the second track, “Soft Glow,” the album’s first single where he croons, “You are the one that shines on me,” before launching into a throat-shredding exaltation of emotion amidst a crushing battery of slashing guitars and battering drums, it’s clear from the onset that LOVE IS NOISE’s heartbeat is a thunderous one.
Taking their name from the song “Love Is Noise” by The Verve (“That’s love in an accepting, inviting way,” says Humphrey), Cam and former Guitarist Tom almost immediately started releasing material, which quickly grabbed the attention of Fever 333/letlive frontman Jason Aalon Butler, who signed the band to his 333 Wreckords imprint. “Jason found us online, randomly,” says Cam. “Jason is a huge inspiration for us musically, but also, to me being a person of color as a frontman in a musical space where not a lot of us exist.” The 333-issued 2022 EP Euphoria, Where Were You? quickly won the band acclaim, as did their initial spate of live shows, the first being a packed headline show at London’s Black Heart that won LOVE IS NOISE an immediate reputation as a rising force within the U.K. scene.
