Ambitious Lovers bill themselves a ‘junk-folk trio’ and I can’t think of a better description for them. This swansong EP is a ramshackle blast of layered voices, ukelele, found percussion and toy synths. At times they remind me of Architecture In Helsinki, if AIH happened to eschew professional studios in favour of rough and ready loungeroom ambience. There is an air of lo-fi to the EP, but in actual fact, all the bits are well recorded and the production keeps each instrument clear and concise, except for the odd vocal take which comes with purposeful dictaphone tape-hiss. Main man Joel Saunders has an ear for a pop melody, best heard on ‘Clear The Cutlery’ and ‘Houses And Homes’, but is unafraid to throw these into the face of the wind via untrained vocal histrionics. The real vocal highlights occur when Kel and Elise (no surnames available that my research could uncover) add faux-naîve harmonies. In those instances (which are fairly plentiful) the true beauty of communal voices, in opposition to tutored mannerism, can be heard.
Mention must almost be made of the hand stitched black and white sleeves – another mesh of the personal with the easymade. A quirky finale for the now defunct group (not to be confused with Arto Lindsay’s post DNA excursions), but one which points the way towards the sounds of Saunders’ subsequent musical ventures.
Adrian Elmer
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