Honestly, the story of Anya and Izaak, the two Californian halves of Loveshadow, is one that everyone has read about a dozen times somewhere by now. They met in a coffee shop, found each other through their love of edgy disco funk circa 1982, and promptly started making music together. It’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, it really is. On the debut »Loveshadow«, the duo shows why this meeting was much less clichéd than it seems retold. Because the sound of the two is so delightfully breathed through by tenderly entwined motifs, the tracks so slim and erotically produced that these Mad-In-Love vibes actually know how to charm from track one to ten, far away from any kitsch overkill. Already the aquatically dreamy opener »7« with its whispered lines, exotica beats and soft pads is an overly clear invitation to all lovers. »Severance« adds ultra earwormy hooks to this, which really could only have been created in this form in the cultural milieu between »Beverly Hills Cop,« yogurette and pastel stretch leggings. Loveshadow pulls it off so skillfully in 2021, however, that even the schmaltzy funk beat in “Pleasure Idler” or the vaporwave textures of a »Tableaux Vivant« sound neither stale nor imitated. Instead, it’s all fresh, fertile and horny. An album to make love to on the beach.
Loveshadow
