Media

City Life:

Grumpy Mancs lamenting the parlous state of popular culture over stuttering garage punk is hardly the most promising of conceits, but with Mark E Smith currently off on an extended sulk it falls to Tom Hingley. The former Inspiral Carpets frontman has even recruited the Fall rhythm section to rudder his querulous supergroup. It's better than imagined too, with swirling Farfisa organ motifs lending these spiky, beligerent anthems a raw psychedelic charm. His stream of invective and rejection of modern mores may cast him as an embittered old cynic, but his knack for muscular pop proves him to be young at heart. (DL)

Rating: 7

Standout track: 'Yeah'

Influenced by: The Undertones, The Fall

Related artists: The Finn Brothers, Inspiral Carpets

'Front' Magazine:

Just when you thought the final nail had been banged in Madchester's coffin, ex Inspiral Carpet's front man,Tom Hingley exhumes its baggy-trousered corpse with his new band, The Lovers, who dish up a nostalgic mix of old-school indie guitars and Hammond organs.It reminds you of a time when discos had sticky floors and a pint of lager cost less than your bus fare home..

IF YOU LIKE

1989 and tie-dye T shirts, you''ll be shoe-gazing all evening to this.

three stars

Designer Magazine:

When not belting out the hits with The Inspiral Carpets to sold out crowds around provincial towns, Tom Hingley has performed with his own band The Lovers and in his own right as a solo artiste. His latest release, under the moniker Tom Hingley And The Lovers, is the intriguingly titled "Abba Are The Enemy". In Tom's band are two members of The Fall (Paul Hanley - Drums, Steve Hanley - bass) as well as Kelly Wood on keyboards and organ. "Online Pharmacy" has that Inspiral's organ sound with Wood behind the synths. The bass is very prominent in the mix with loud rock guitars. Hingley seems angrier than ever spitting out the lyrics. Fans of the Inspirals will be surprised at the impact this song makes. "Tallyfalarious" has slightly more dramatic keyboard undercurrent, but the bombastic atmosphere remains. The vengeful lyrics come thick and fast without a moments hesitation, especially with the no hold barred opener "You've no idea how much I hate you".

Simple good time rock'n'roll can be found on "Boyband" which reminds me very much of The Stooges. Lyrically it exposes the music industry of exploiting youngsters at the expense of making a profit. A good point, very well made.

Coming back to the theme of inadequate nature of male physicality (as expressed in Radiohead's "Creep") is "The Perfect Body". Using the song as a confessional tool Hingley pours his heart out on this slow and mesmerising ballad. His voice, tender and wounded almost trembles as he comes to realise that love can indeed by paradoxical. As the final song on the album this gives us plenty of food for thought.

"Abba Are The Enemy" adds another string to his bow as Tom displays his love of rock on an album full of life and vitality with a ballad that rivals The Streets "Dry Your Eyes Out" for sheer emotional impact, not to mention a superb array of musicians.

Nicholas Paul Godkin

Freeflow.uk:

Forget any preconceptions you may have that this album is a post Inspirals knees up bound for one final trip round the block, far from it. Abba Are The Enemy delivers a collection of punk-pop firecrackers that roundly sticks two fingers up at anything foolish enough to get in its way.

The sometimes brooding, but more often than not, kicking like a mule bass and drums of Paul and Steve Hanley (ex The Fall) are the foundation on which Jason Brown's guitar, and Salford Uni's own Kelly Wood's Farfias keys street fight it out for supremacy. Overlaid, Hingley's vocal spits his barbed lyrics as if his very life depended on them hitting their targets.

The result is an album of short sharp shocks in which Hingley lays bare everything that's pained him from birth. From the brutal fairground ride of 'Online Pharmacy' to the riotously catchy and must be single 'Boyband', AATE treats your ears like sonic punchbags. It's only when we reach the closing song that Hingley finally shows some fragility and the listener earns some well deserved respite with the haunting 'The Perfect Body'. All in all and pound for pound AATE punches its body weight, and it's a wonderfully entertaining way in which to get bruised. . Buy it, crank it up loud, then start ducking.

 

SCOOTERING magazine:

Of course Abba are not the enemy, I mean who could have anything against that loveable Scandinavian Quartet? It does however get you thinking, thinking as to what's out there in the world that is bringing us down. Well former Inspiral Carpets' frontman Tom, and his band of Lovers (featuring ex-members of The Fall) have found a few. If you're a fan of the Carpets or good-old keyboard led, stonking garage tunes (that's 60s garage not the modern rubbish), then you're probably going to like this. As indeed will anyone with a passion for live music I feel, which leads me nicely to track 7, Boyband, a subject which I'd wager most on the scooter scene are pretty vocally negative about. The album starts however with a short instrumental, Temperamental Jimmy, which leads us nicely into Online Pharmacy, a song about both being bullied as a kid and the supposed modern cures for everything in the way of unprescribed drugs freely available for purchase on the internet. There's also a bonus CD-ROM of the Online Pharmacy video on this CD by the way. Something that anyone with an email account no doubt gets spammed with offers about daily. Also on this CD are Yeah (in which reality TV shows get a justified slating) and 3145 from The Lovers' limited edition 7" single released earlier this year, making 12 tracks in all, that also take time to bash American imperialism, as well as being truthful, as in I Feel Old. There's a lot to like about this album in both the lyrics and the music, and it's a crying shame that with all of Simon Cowell's crap out there that a true voice of music probably won't get the chance to put the record straight to the mainstream. Then again, they probably wouldn't understand it anyway. Still, if we all buy a copy on the same Monday morning there's a chance that it may dent the charts and force some of the rubbish out there to think again.

Manchester Evening News

THE Lovers are, indeed, the antithesis of Abba. But, come to think of it, Inspiral Carpets' front man Tom Hingley's band don't look much like lovers either.

And nothing here qualifies as a love song either. This is spiky humour and even spikier garage rock, with Kelly Wood's Farfisa organ doing pretty much what Clint Boon did for the Inspirals.

It is as rough as the proverbial bear's posterior, but in a rather pleasing way - thrashing drums, lo-fi guitars and that happy-hour-in-the-bingo-club feel always imparted by the Farfisa.

There are shades of The Stranglers here and, with brothers Paul and Steve Hanley - both veterans of The Fall - on board, a little sprinkling of that band's brain-numbing sonic intensity about it too.

There is one song decrying Simon Cowell - which must be a good thing - and a welcome anthem in celebration of the mature rocker, I Feel Old.

There is also possibly the only song not sung by Ken Dodd to feature the world Tattyfalarious.

Good on you, fellows.

Cambridge News:

top album

WHEN groundbreaking musicians from the fading past try and return with a new musical venture it often turns out embarrassingly dated or else attempts to clone the latest style and completely misses the point.But former Inspiral Carpets singer Tom Hingley and Steve Hanley, bassist with The Fall, have fashioned a genuinely interesting album which deserves attention from more than just their usual 90s indie fanbase.

The distorted, crunching guitars and swirling, dirty rock n' roll on offer here could easily be passed off as the latest teen garage sensation and anyone who sympathises with the album's title will not be disappointed.

Manilla Magazine:

You know from the opening bars of Temperamental Jimmy that this album is about the music…how many bands open with an instrumental? This is substance over image. Track two sees Tom Hingley's distinctive vocal style open up on Online Pharmacy, anyone plagued by Internet spam will get the message. Hingley's vocals show a slight hint of anger. This is to ease you gently into the stand out track on the album, Yeah…a pure angst ridden, but glorious melody, from chugging guitars to break neck guitar and keyboards, Hingley launches into his tirade against all the TV pap that dominates our screen. Hole is more laid back and, dare I say, sing along…the bands past influence are certainly in evidence. Tattyfalarious is a supreme track, opening with a North African Bedouin feel before the thumping bass drum kicks in. This is The Lovers at their best, the music is perfect and cannot fail to stir some sort of emotion and Tom Hingley offers his unique, raw and passionate style, with a slight hint of Mancunian drawl. Boyband is the anthem to all of us with deep held frustrations towards the likes of today's boybands that serves us a diet of bland shite, but The Lovers express themselves so much better…"Who's a clever boy then? You should be a boyband". A fantastic 2 and a half minutes of expression against Busted. I Feel Old seems to be a brutally honest song, with the band pouring their hearts out backed by beautiful guitars and harmonica. Tom Hingley and The Lovers are not bound by a record company, this is an independent release in the truest sense of the word, don't think that you will pick up this album and love it immediately but you will do after a day of listening. The lyrics are heartfelt, raw and sup up what every thirty-something feels about the world today. In an age of political spin The Lovers offer an alternative. Every bland member of politics and pop should listen to this album. It is refreshing in its approach and creates a beautiful but politically incorrect portrait of the UK today.

Tony McDonagh

Rob Jones (www.intromagazine.com & www.ents24.com ) on: The Lovers

THE LOVERS

5 piece indie super-group, The Lovers feature the vocal talents of TomHingley of Mancunian maestros, The Inspiral Carpets, as well as the brothers Hanley, Steve and Paul, (bass and drums respectively), who are both former members of another Lancastrian legend, The Fall. The lads are joined by keyboard queen, Kelly Wood, and ex-This Gigantic World guitar guru, Jason Brown.

Interested in finding out more?.......Well, you should be!.........Extensive live dates, a support network of invaluable music business contacts, and the development of their own label, New Memorabilia, has paved the way for the quintet to perfect their sound. The autonomy of The Lovers has led to three years of focus on their debut album, the wonderfully titled, Abba are the Enemy, which comes out on October 4.

Their psychedelic-garage-punk template demonstrates that age does not necessarily erase ability, it is just the domain of the media to wrongfully write off anyone seemingly over the age of 25! The track I Feel Old is a wry observation of the demands of Pop to retain the Peter Pan status, when if the music is momentous, do dates of birth really make any difference! The energy, enthusiasm and entertainment levels of the album is apparent both in an array of sonic strengths and livewire lyrics. The topics which come under the microscope, include: Reality television, Pop Idol, narcotics, American politics, femme fatales, and as the album name suggests plenty of acerbic humour is also thrown in to the mix. The pop pap that occupies the lay by of the musical motorway is torn apart by The Lovers who speed past in the fast lane of furore.

The instrumental kick off is akin to The Inspirals and The Fall in a furious jamming session, before we head off on a spree of fast and furious, napalm noise, which pays homage to the likes of: 13th Floor Elevators on full throttle; I wanna be Your Dog, Stooges; Kick out the Jams, MC5; The Damned firing out Machine Gun Etiquette; an At the Drive In aural assault; robust Rebel Rebel, David Bowie; psyched up, Psychedelic Furs; &, even a nod to the genius of Jimi Hendrix. All of these raucous roads then lead to a flowing finish courtesy of the sedate and swooning song, The Perfect Body.

Eleven tunes provide a feast of frenetic fayre, with a gentle departure to close the proceedings. In total a dozen dynamite offerings that celebrate rock 'n' roll past, present and future. The 2004 Lovers LP confirms that Hingley has plenty of fuel left in the tank for many tomorrows to come!