Loverama is the fifth studio album by the Australian band Custard “Custard (band)”). It was released in June 1999 and peaked at number 19 on the ARIA Charts; the band’s highest charting album.
Loverama was the band’s final release for 16 years, until 2015’s Come Back, All Is Forgiven. Some copies came as a two-CD set, with the companion disc called Custaro Musico.
“Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us) “Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us)”)”, “Ringo (I feel Like…)” and “Hit Song” all featured in a Hottest 100, with Girls… in 1998[2] and the other two in 1999.[3]
Source: Loverama by Wikipedia
Recently, when asked about album reviews and music criticism, Caroline Polachek suggested that:
Music criticism is not a review of the album you just made, its a review of your career up to that point. – Caroline Polachek
Source: This Generation’s Caroline Polachek by Switched on Pop
It is a strange experience slowly listening through a bands oeuvre one album at a time, I feel it is impossible by nature of the exercise not to judge each album against the previous. Sometimes I wonder if you start to hear ghosts after awhile. For example, I would find myself making assertions, such as this album is more straight-forward or has a different feel when it comes to instrumentation, only to then question myself as many of the ingredients are present in their earlier work.
It was interesting reading in ‘Preview for Loverama’ in Cuszine 2 that some of these ‘new’ songs were actually old rejects, such as Ringo. This left wondering about the difference made by Magoo as producer. I wondered if that although the same ingredients are present, whether it be distorted guitar, slide guitar, weird effects, quirky lyrics, that it was the placement of the drums and bass in the mix that actually hold these songs together and provide some sort of semblance of continuity? I fear though that if I went back to the past albums I would possibly hear the same pattern, however I feel that with Loverama whenever there is some sort of dalliance with some strange guitar line or even a harmony that it is the rhythm that grounds it all.
The other difference is that although the album is approximately the same length as say We Have the Technology, there are only 13 tracks, while some were instead included on a bonus disc Custaro Musico. I wondered if the extra length allowed the songs more time to hook listeners? Or maybe it is an example of a band that has come to grips with their potential.
Overall, this was the album that really grew on me the more I listened.
Loverama
- “Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us)” 3:11 – The warble bass used throughout this album reminded me of Bowie. Then I went and re-listened to Bowie and I could not hear it. Funny how when you follow up text-to-text connections that they can make a mockery of our memory.
- “Hit Song” 2:22 – Love the comment in Cuszine 2 “Soon Custard will be writing a song about writing songs that are about songs they are trying to write.”
- “Monkey” 2:26
- “The New Matthew” 4:18 – The chorus really makes this song, the harmonies and the way the guitars really fill out. The ending is only track on the album that goes off in a tangent. I was not sure if this saying something like even with all the new quiet ways, the old remains.
- “Ringo (I Feel Like)” 2:50 – Listening to Ringo, I felt it could have been a Disco Machine song. I was also reminded of Twinkle Digitz’ Blackmail Boogie.
- “Nervous Breakdance” 3:57 – It is interesting comparing the two versions of this song, this one and the electronic version on Custaro Musico. It highlights how their music could so easily be so different if they had made different choices.
- “Funny” 1:57 – classic Custard, the song feels over before it has even started
- “Pluto (Pts. 1 & 2)” 2:55 – This song ebbs and flows throughout, I feel it could sit in a playlist alongside Blur, Parklife era, but then again, I could be wrong.
- “Almost Like A Song” 3:57 – There is something about the idea of ‘hitting’ you with this song. The wall of distorted guitars and harmonies ‘hit’ you at the same time as the chorus.
- “Correctional Facility Of Love” 4:12 – I had no idea what this song was about when I first listened to it. I thought it was implying that being in a relationship was akin to being in jail, until I read that it was based on a Four Corner’s program about prisoners who swallowed objects so they had to be sent to hospital to avoid being raped.
- “Genius” 3:47 – Song by Glenn Thompson.
- “Kinder Whore” 2:50 – This song is driven by a really strong bass line which I feel prevents it from exploding.
- “Ladies And Gentlemen” 3:22 – The big dramatic strums have a Pulp feel. Magoo discusses this in Cuszine 2: “The highlight of recording this song was the violin. We decided to try and make the song as dramatic as possible, to suit the lyric. Strings were talked about and Glenn told me about this guy he knew. John Bone was his name. Everyone I spoke to about this guy said he was amazing. It’s pretty strange when people build someone up to be great You get a picture in you’re head that’s pretty hard to match. Anyway he came to do the track. He didn’t really even want to hear the song before he went in to record it. No one mentioned keys or the vibe required. He just did his thing and It was truly amazing.”
Custaro Musico
- “Umlaut” 2:59
- “No Te Escribi Ninguna Cancion” 2:18
- “Pablo Tiene Novia” 1:53
- “Gato De Nueve Colas” 1:14
- “Nervoisa Danzarota II” 5:00
Marginalia
Loverama is the fifth studio album by the Australian band Custard “Custard (band)”). It was released in June 1999 and peaked at number 19 on the ARIA Charts; the band’s highest charting album.
Loverama was the band’s final release for 16 years, until 2015’s Come Back, All Is Forgiven. Some copies came as a two-CD set, with the companion disc called Custaro Musico.
“Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us) “Girls Like That (Don’t Go For Guys Like Us)”)”, “Ringo (I feel Like…)” and “Hit Song” all featured in a Hottest 100, with Girls… in 1998[2] and the other two in 1999.[3]
Source: Loverama%20-%20Wikipedia by
Loverama, the fifth studio album by the renowned Australian band Custard, was released on June 14th, 1999, and marked a significant milestone in their career. The record achieved remarkable success, soaring to new heights and reaching a peak of number 19 on the ARIA Charts. It proudly stands as the band’s highest-charting album to date and has become a beloved favourite among fans.
Source: LOVERAMA%20%26%20%20CUSTARO%20MUSICO by
Recorded and produced by Magoo at The Dirty Room in Brisbane and Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne during the optimistic summer of October and November 1998. Assisted at The Dirty Room by Andrew Lancaster. Assisted at Sing Sing by Dave Davis. Mixed at Sing Sing by Magoo with Glenn Thompson and David McCormack. “We Wanna Party” recorded and mixed at 192 Musgrave Rd, Red Hill, Queensland. Artwork by Glenn Thompson withinterference from David McCormack.
Source: LOVERAMA%20%26%20%20CUSTARO%20MUSICO by
If something’s bad, that’s what they meant to do, it’s them having fun.
Source: Custard%20-%20Loverama%20(album%20review%20)%20%7C%20Sputnikmusic by
I think that this could probably read as “if something seems bad.” I think that you have two choices with Custard, you either accept them and their music and come to respect it for what it is or you do not.
“I was happy to do something that wasn’t as throwaway as some of the other ones [songs on earlier albums],” McCormack said, although he was aware his intentions might not land in the same way for listeners.
“I’m sure everyone else would think it’s an overtly happy and quirky Custard record. But I think for us, we could listen to it and go, ‘ah yeah that’s right, that was fucked when that happened.'”
Source: Classic%20Album%3A%20Custard%20%E2%80%93%20Loverama%20-%20ABC%20listen by
[Correctional Facility of Love] was inspired by a three-part ABC documentary series that revealed the stories of prisoners who would swallow contraptions made with rubber bands and paperclips that would cause terrible internal injuries so they would be taken to hospital, and in doing so, avoid being raped.
As chilling and horrific as that sounds, the fact that people are in a position of having to contemplate such actions is even more disturbing and makes one stop to reflect, something that McCormack explains that the band was ready to explore on Loverama.
Source: Classic%20Album%3A%20Custard%20%E2%80%93%20Loverama%20-%20ABC%20listen by
“It’s that whole realisation that people like The Go-Betweens can have on you,” he said. “On the balance of things, no one wants to hear a happy throwaway song. I don’t really. I wanna hear a sad, melancholy song that you could listen to a few times. That’s something we came to realise and therefore that’s what we wanted to do.”
Source: Classic%20Album%3A%20Custard%20%E2%80%93%20Loverama%20-%20ABC%20listen by
It would seem that there was a choice to include some of their quirky tracks as a bonus disc.
My reflections on the Rorschach test that is listening to the complete discography of Australian band, Custard.