release date: Jan. 1997
format: cd (MRCD 3327)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Lovebites
label: Mega Records - nationality: Denmark
Track highlights: 1. "Here Comes My Love" - 2. "Travelling" (4 / 5) - 3. "Love Swims By" - 4. "Better New World" - 7. "Hey, Look Around" - 9. "Promised Land"
Studio album debut by Danish indie pop band Lovebites consisting of Danish-Norwegian lead vocalist Solveig Sandnes, vocalist Sigrún Gudbrandsdóttir, acoustic guitarist Karina FossFenn, bassist Andrew FossFenn, lead guitarist Henrik Olesen (ex-Greene-guitarist and also a member of Olesen-Olesen), and drummer Niclas Tange (ex-Die Kapelle, and ex-The Poets). Initially, the two friends Karina Foss and Kristina Søndergaard teamed up to form the duo Purr after which they made contact with British-born Andrew Fenn (from Excess Bleeding Heart) - Foss and Fenn became a couple and took the surname FossFenn, they then continued as Purr with changing line-ups, Søndergaard left and they continued playing some time with Henrik Olesen (who was still engaged with Greene) on board. Around '95 they expanded with Sandnes and they included Tange to sit in as drummer for a few concerts, and when they signed with Mega in early '96 to release a debut album, he became a permanent member, which settled the current line-up and they changed their name to Lovebites.
Lovebites plays melodic indie pop - perhaps with a stress on pop and with some obvious bonds to British artists like House of Love, Echobelly, Lush, Swedish band The Cardigans, and American names like Mazzy Star, Throwing Muses, and Belly - and in that regard the sound and style may not reflect strong original tones, but still, it works out quite nicely. And especially Solveig Sandnes appears as the band's strongest asset with a strong and lively vocal with a colourful original tone giving great hopes for upcoming releases. Alas, the album would prove to be the only with Sandnes on lead vocal out of a total of three albums by Lovebites.
"Travelling", released as a promo-single in Oct. '96, is the strongest track on an uneven but promising debut. The band was already seen as the next big thing - the album was met by fine national reviews and then as the band was about to sign with a British label for a follow-up, Sandnes decided to leave to pursue a career as solo artist.
