The School

The School - Loveless Unbeliever
By Alex Brady
 
As the summer rolls in, I find myself being confronted with more and more releases toting themselves as the anthem for this year’s brief spell of ultraviolet exposure. Today, I pass judgement upon The School’s “Loveless Unbeliever.”
 
It took me some time to get my thoughts together regarding this album, half because it is thirteen tracks, each with bliss stamped into its makeup, and half because I thought I had fallen back in time to the 70s again, pesky wormhole.
 
The album cover is a lovely faded pink giving a sense of age but lasting sentiment and love, or for the unromantic, leave a photo in the sun for a day or so, you get the same effect. The songs contained within are just as beautiful. “Let it Slip” is a bit of a wake up slap to begin with, starting everything at a sprinting pace before easing you into gentle early Beatles feel, energetic yet undeniably lovely.
 
The angelic and almost child-like voices that accompany each track are fuelled by innocence yet lack any comparison within the mainstream industry making them unique and as refreshing as lemonade in the summer sun. On the whole, the album is gentle yet confident, heavenly yet relatable, innocent yet somehow sexy like an unobtainable dream.
 
My favourite track is, without a doubt, “I Want You Back.” Its heartfelt plea is disguised by a bouncy rhythm, a catchy chorus and a cheery demeanour matched only by the mood the album left me in. “Can’t Understand” came in a close second with its trademark ba ba’s, akin to a female Beach Boys with “Barbara Ann”, a song which is, scarily, almost 45 years old now.
 
Those who don’t like this album, if such a thing is possible, might tell the band to shove it where the sun don’t shine. That will prove difficult given how iridescent joy radiates out of everything this band is and has to offer us over the shiny months to come.
 

Retro's Grade: 1st