The first thing you need to know about Loving is that these guys met while planting trees in British Columbia. The first thing you need to know about If I Am Only My Thoughts is that they all retreated to a tiny house on a secluded island to write this album.
Keeping all this in mind, the soundscape Loving creates makes perfect sense. It’s subdued, it’s raw, it’s organic, it’s unfiltered – this album is the musical equivalent of green juice.
But green juice isn’t for everybody, and drinking too much of it at once becomes a chore. The music is so gentle and quiet that it skates the edge of monotonous. Loving’s lyrics stick to minimalist descriptions of interpersonal encounters, reminiscent of the love poetry that I wrote in 8th grade when my crush was in the class and I didn’t want him to know he was the subject. Loving spends 33 minutes whispering existential lyrics into one of your ears only for them to just slide out of the other.
It’s not a bad album. I like it. It just didn’t affect me. I want music to make me jump out of my seat and dance or kick a hole through my chest. If I Am Only My Thoughts only seems to exist while I am listening to it, but it’s enjoyable while it’s there.
-Lindsay Horn