After teasing a few headlining tracks on Spotify, Halifax electronica duo Lvbor Cvmp have now dropped into the scene with an eleven-track album to test the waters with their curious sound and style. Though the album has its fair share of questionable ideas and overall feels rather inconclusive in terms of style and identity, it also contains several exciting elements that may very much help the duo blossom in the future if the cards are played right.
The three teased tunes, “Ghosts in the Hallway,” “Cancel Me,” and “Beauty Pageant” were great choices for a teaser, as they do the best job of showcasing exactly what Lvbor Cvmp is capable of. “Ghosts in the Hallway” uses a synth that’s very otherworldly, expansive, and shining with a sort of soft power. It doesn’t fit the title much at all, which brings to mind the enclosed space of a hallway rather than the broad atmosphere that the synth suggests.
Title accuracy aside, “Ghosts in the Hallway” is one of the many instances of the duo’s notable ability to create an instrumental atmosphere; a talent that isn’t fully realized in this particular album, unfortunately.
Outside of the three teaser tracks, the majority of the album’s content doesn’t have a runtime beyond two minutes. This doesn’t necessarily take away from the content itself, but does otherwise prevent the duo from making full use of their atmospheric ability.
“Blue Dream” and “Magic Potion” are two such instances where this ability is realized despite the limited runtime; the former effortlessly giving off the aesthetic of a cool-coloured dreamspace, and the latter providing a hauntingly arcane vibe.
Unfortunately, it’s also among those two tracks, specifically “Magic Potion” that a failed experiment presents itself, alongside “Waxing,” “Alter Ego,” and “Frontier.” The experiment in question is the concentration of a majority of their sounds in the right earbud, and barely a handful of them on the left. A fun experiment, but one that turns otherwise great instrumentals into a distracting and disorienting listen.
Back to the teaser tunes, “Cancel Me” and “Beauty Pageant” show off some of the duo’s other talents in an admittedly repetitive manner. “Cancel Me” is sensual, bluesy, and sexy, perhaps with a melancholic undertone given the track’s title. The heavily-modulated voices make it a bit difficult to make out what’s being said, but the meat of the track’s quality comes from its instrumentals, so it hardly detracts. “Beauty Pageant,” meanwhile, shows up with excellent percussion that’s very alternative, centre-stage, dynamic, and flaring with a certain confidence. These are two styles that Lvbor Cvmp would be wise to fine-tune on future releases.
Finally, the last style to add to the fine-tune list is the styles shown in “Mr. Universe” and “One Foot in the Door.” Here, their instrumentals take a backseat to a deliciously-baritone lyrical style that wouldn’t be out of place in the classic rock genre.
Lvbor Cvmp is very much an act that appears to be in their beta stage; some great ideas here and there that have yet to merge into a conclusive identity, resulting in an album that’s somewhat messy and possibly premature. Nevertheless, there’s more than enough evidence here that they’re more than capable of creating what could very well be a hit if a little more TLC is given to their present capabilities.