Lose Your Way

Lose Your Way
Studio album by Love Amongst Ruin
Released 29 June 2015 (2015-06-29)
Recorded 2011-2012 at Moles Studios (Bath, Somerset), Old Laundry (Winchester, Hampshire)
Genre Alternative rock, hard rock
Label Ancient B Records
Producer Dan Austin
Love Amongst Ruin chronology
Love Amongst Ruin
2010		 Lose Your Way
2015
Singles from Love Amongst Ruin
  1. "Lose Your Way"
    Released: May 11, 2015
  2. "Modern War Song"
    Released: July 24, 2015
  3. "So Close"
    Released: November 6, 2015

Lose Your Way is the second studio album by the British rock band Love Amongst Ruin. It was released by Ancient B Records on 29 June 2015 and has been described as "an album from an artist over the hump, head high to the future and all engines gunning".[1]

Background

Writing and recording

Writing for Love Amongst Ruin's second album began midway through the tour supporting their self-titled debut album in January 2011.[2] Just prior to the end of the tour the following June, frontman Steve Hewitt revealed that the band had written nine songs and planned to begin recording in September 2011.[3] In November, Hewitt revealed that the band had been recording at Moles Studio in Bath, the location of the majority of recording for the band's debut album.[4] Writing was completed in March 2012 and recordings continued at Moles Studio, with Hewitt and guitarists Donald Ross Skinner and Steve Hove handling playing duties, with Paul Corkett engineering.[1][5] Corkett later put Hewitt and Skinner in touch with producer Dan Austin,[5] a frequent production partner of Gil Norton.[6] Austin was given a trial run at producing the title track, which he "nailed" and was asked to produce the whole album.[1] The entire process was completed in two-and-a-half months.[7]

Perry Bamonte featured on bass on the album after being announced as having joined the band in September 2012.[8] Early composition "Oh God" was recorded for the album, after having been performed live at the Scala in June 2010 and prepared for an EP in 2012,[9] which failed to see release. A cover of Six by Seven's "So Close" was recorded for the album,[10] prior to Hewitt joining the said band in 2013.[1] Despite initially not wishing to record a cover, Hewitt and Austin felt the track fitted the vibe of the album and set out "to make it the song it never really was".[10] Former member Laurie Ross returned to provide cello and programming for the album. Hewitt recalled that the troublesome vocal melody for "Menace Ballad" was completed by local Bath musician Nick Walker.[6]

Musical style and influences

The album has been described as containing rock noir, psychedelic, experimental post-rock and ethereal influences.[1]

Themes

Of the album's title and title track, Hewitt said "it’s how your perceptions change as you go through life. Do you actually know where you’re fucking going? It’s trying to explain life’s difficult path".[11] Hewitt also revealed that he consciously made a decision to write about experiences outside the personal nature prevalent on the debut album, saying "it's a difficult thing to do and a huge departure mentally and it's something I find exciting. There are still personal songs on the record, but it's more about the human condition rather than what's being inflicted by others".[12] Closing track "Oh God" was written by Hewitt as a reaction to the shock of hearing the news of the death of his friend Stuart Cable in 2010.[9] "Modern War Song" deals with the subject of Western imperialism and how "revolting soldiers are treated when their service finishes after signing up and fighting for their country".[9][13] Hewitt revealed that there isn't a constant theme running through the album, instead "the album is more of a soundscape".[6]

Delay and release

Lose Your Way was put on the back burner after guitarist Steve Hove quit the band shortly before a comeback show at the London Barfly on 10 September 2012.[14] Hewitt subsequently joined Six by Seven for its Love and Peace and Sympathy album and tour in 2013 and produced records by former Love Amongst Ruin support bands Lys and Spiral 69.[15] The album title and track list were revealed in April 2015,[1] with a release date of 29 June 2015.[7] The release of the album was preceded by the "Lose Your Way" EP on 11 May and was followed by the "Modern War Song" and "So Close" EPs respectively on 24 July and 6 November.[16][17][18]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
CDStarts[19]
Gigslutz[20]
GIGSoup[21]
Kerrang![22]
NME[23]
Powermetal.de[24]
Renowned for Sound[25]
Shout 4 Music[26]
Sound of Brit[27]

NME gave the album 7/10, saying that the album was "lovely, but ruinous".[23] Cryptic Rock gave the album full marks and said Hewitt had achieved a "smorgasbord" and "cornucopia of sound".[28] Kerrang! awarded the album 4/5, saying Hewitt's ejection from Placebo "may well have been a blessing in disguise".[22]

Tour

Love Amongst Ruin performing in London, November 2015.

Love Amongst Ruin announced the opening run of tour dates supporting Lose Your Way on 3 September 2015.[29] The tour included the band's debut shows in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Norway and Sweden.[30] Gizz Butt (guitar) and Ravi Kesavaram (drums) were brought in to support the core lineup of Hewitt, Skinner and Bamonte.[31] Following the opening leg, the band plans to play the Republic of Ireland and for the first time, North America.[13]

Date City Country Venue
Europe
November 24, 2015 London United Kingdom Barfly
November 26, 2015 Hamburg Germany Rock Café
November 27, 2015 Krefeld Kulturfabrik
November 29, 2015 Frankfurt Das Bett
December 1, 2015 Vienna Austria Viper Room
December 2, 2015 Ljubljana Slovenia Channel Zero
December 3, 2015 Zagreb Croatia Vintage Industrial Bar
December 4, 2015 Milan Italy Lo-Fi
December 6, 2015 Dresden Germany Reithalle
December 7, 2015 Berlin Privatclub
December 9, 2015 Oslo Norway John Dee Live Club
December 10, 2015 Stockholm Sweden Pet Sounds
December 13, 2015 Cologne Germany Underground
December 14, 2015 Paris France Flèche d’Or

Cancelled dates

Date City Country Venue R
November 30, 2015 Munich Germany Backstage 1
December 11, 2015 Copenhagen Denmark Beta 1
1 Cancelled due to circumstances beyond the band's control.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Lose Your Way"  Steve Hewitt & Donald Ross Skinner 3:20
2. "Modern War Song"  Steve Hewitt & Steve Hove 4:54
3. "Watch Myself"  Steve Hewitt & Donald Ross Skinner 4:34
4. "Swan Killer"  Steve Hewitt & Steve Hove 3:12
5. "Paper Tigers"  Steve Hewitt & Steve Hove 4:06
6. "So Close"  Chris Olley, James Flower, Chris Davis, Paul Douglas 4:30
7. "Menace Ballad"  Steve Hewitt & Donald Ross Skinner 4:19
8. "Oh God"  Steve Hewitt 6:01

iTunes bonus tracks[32]

No. Title Length
9. "Lose Your Way Revision"   6:14
10. "Swan Killer Revision"   6:27

Personnel

Production

Singles

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Love Amongst Ruin - Former Placebo Drummer Releases LOSE YOUR WAY on June 2 -". Vents Magazine. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Q&A: Love Amongst Ruin". completemusicupdate.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Rich Chamberlain. "Steve Hewitt: I was 'absolutely s****ing my pants' about fronting new band". musicradar.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin". stpaulslifestyle.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Love Amongst Ruin : A Talk With Steve Hewitt". Backseat Mafia. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "From The Horse’s Mouth: Steve Hewitt (Love Amongst Ruin) on Lose Your Way | Ghettoblaster Magazine". ghettoblastermagazine.com. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  7. 1 2 "INTERVIEW: Steve Hewitt (Love Amongst Ruin)". Gigslutz. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Working hard, rehearsing hard. We can... - Love Amongst Ruin - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 aaamusic. "Love Amongst Ruin @ Scala". aaamusic.co.uk. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Q&A: Take Aim with Steve Hewitt of Love Amongst Ruin". Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  11. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin unveil Lose Your Way". TeamRock. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Home | Arena Music". arena.com. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  13. 1 2 "INTERVIEW: STEVE HEWITT from 'LOVE AMONGST RUIN' talks new album + tour - Love Amongst Ruin released their brilliant second album "LOSE YOUR WAY" in June, it received 9/10 from XS Noize. Mark Millar recently caught up with front". Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  14. ↑ "ANNOUNCEMENT: Unfortunately we've had to... - Love Amongst Ruin - Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Scene Not Herd. "Scene Not Herd: SNH Interviews...S I X . B Y S E V E N". scenenotherd.org. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  16. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Lose Your Way - Single by Love Amongst Ruin". iTunes. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "Modern War Song - EP by Love Amongst Ruin". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  18. ↑ "So Close - Single by Love Amongst Ruin on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  19. ↑ Sebastian Meyer (26 June 2015). "Love Amongst Ruin - Lose Your Way". CDstarts.de. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "ALBUM: Love Amongst Ruin - 'Lose Your Way' - Gigslutz". Gigslutz. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "ALBUM REVIEW : Love Amongst Ruin – ‘Lose Your Way’". GIGsoup. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  22. 1 2 "Timeline Photos - Love Amongst Ruin | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-07-09.
  23. 1 2 "NME Reviews - 9 Great Albums That May Have Passed You By This Week - NME.COM". NME.COM. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Review - LOVE AMONGST RUIN - Lose Your Way - POWERMETAL.de". powermetal.de. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "Renowned for Sound - Album Review: Love Amongst Ruin – Lose Your Way". Renowned for Sound. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin – Lose Your Way". shout4music.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  27. ↑ "Review : Love Amongst Ruin – Lose Your Way". Sound Of Britain. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  28. ↑ "Love Amongst Ruin – Lose Your Way (Album Review)". Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  29. ↑ "We are very pleased to announce the... - Love Amongst Ruin | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
  30. ↑ "Schubert Music Publishing". www.schubertmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  31. ↑ "LOVE AMONGST RUIN - Du 14/12/2015 19:30 au 15/12/2015 01:00 - LOVE AMONGST RUIN". www.flechedor.fr. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  32. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Lose Your Way by Love Amongst Ruin". iTunes. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
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