Sara Lov

Rainy days. Scattered old black and white photographs. Half-empty glasses of wine. For an average person, these are just arbitrary things. Wait till the rain stops before going outside. Put away the photographs; empty out the glasses. For Los Angeles-based songstress Sara 

Lov, these things are all plausible fodder for her first full-length, Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming, the follow up to 2008’s Young Eyes EP (Lov’s first release on Nettwerk Records).

On Seasoned Eyes, Lov thoroughly delivers her self-described, “simple and sad with a shot of Scotch” sound, but pushes things even further, adding to it splashes of whimsy, charm, and drama.

Album-opener “Just Beneath the Chords” is smooth and gyspy-esque. Over heavy piano, Lov tenderly croons the lyrics, “You don’t need a key to know me.”

And you really don’t. It is Lov’s unyielding openness and honesty that makes her so endearing and so firmly sets her apart from the recent slew of guitar-playing female artists that have inundated the pop scene.

“Frankie” is a slow, lounge-friendly tune complete with Lov’s effortless vocals blanketing lush melodies.

Dramatic and emotional, “A Thousand Bees” is a powerhouse with heavy harmonies, strong vocals, and pianos and strings all swirling together to form an aural kaleidoscope of sounds and emotions.

“Animals” is a stunning track, sparsely outfitted with steady guitar and a dreamy, solid duet between Lov and Sea Wolf’s Alex Church.

With her lilting, heartfelt voice and the sweet, subtle interplay of pianos and acoustic guitars, Lov injects a feeling of sunshine in the sadness. She finds joy in the melancholy and creates stillness amongst the chaos.

From the gauzy, effervescent track “Old Friends” to the calm, wistful “Fountain,” Seasoned Eyes overflows with earnest passion, gentle sadness, and perhaps, most importantly, raw emotion.

It is more than evident, by the end of the album, that Sara Lov and her merry band are a serious force to be reckoned with and easily one of the most promising acts in the present-day Los Angeles music scene.