Michael Shepard appears to be staying in his electro-pop phase with the release of Relive. It is a crisp, modern album with a steady flow of mid to slow tempo synth-driven/ effects songs. This is Lovedrug’s seventh studio album and this one, like Notions (2015), and ii (2017) are certainly more lead man studio creations than rock band efforts. “Confession” opens the album with a smooth, groovy pop feel. Songs “Ocean”, “S.I.C. (You Call Me)” offer (very) slight hints at the bands high marks as a rock band. “Get Over It” and “King of the Mountain” raise the bar on the electro-pop, think Phamtogram. This is certainly a very good album but this listener misses the momentum the band hit with career high mark Wild Blood (2011). Let’s hope they take this effort on the road as it would be great to hear these in a live setting side by side with the bands earlier rock anthems.
