Luke Spiller “Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine”
“You’ll find a way to end me before God can find the time”.
The Struts, hailing from Derby in the UK, have been a mainstay of the modern-day glam rock scene for the best part of a decade. This year brings the first solo album from their frontman, Luke Spiller. Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine largely opts for a theatrical, orchestral-based soundscape, which separates it from any of Spiller’s band’s output. And, while his ventures into trying new things are admirable, the execution is, at times, somewhat flawed.
The decision to leave behind The Struts’ biting, bouncy and sometimes crude brand of hard rock is clearly intentional; Spiller definitely wanted for this project to be more revealing and personal. In some cases, this does work out - such as on the faux-title track, “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine”, or the opener, “Devil In Me”; both tracks feel like a raw, revealing look into the mind of a man struggling to grasp and process a complex spectrum of emotions, as well as a darker side of himself. The level of the writing is quite solid, and pretty consistent throughout the tracklist.
However, I believe that, despite the quality lyricism, the album does end up missing the mark slightly on the emotional resonance, because it feels too intentional, too played up. Theatrics and drama can oftentimes work in the favor of melancholic, introspective music, but it’s crucial to maintain a sense of poise and balance - something which I believe this record doesn’t manage to achieve. The delivery sometimes becomes overbearing and often doesn’t feel earned - as a result, certain songs end up coming across somewhat hollow, and Spiller as a narrator feels as though he lacks a little bit of self-awareness. A great example of this is the eighth track, “Don’t Be Afraid To Love Me” - whose sprawling six-minute length results in it feeling quite self-indulgent and drawn out.
Of course, though it does cost the album a lot of subtlety and perhaps some of its authenticity, there’s still a lot to be praised when it comes to the sweeping, grandiose sound of “Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine”. The orchestral instrumentation is produced beautifully, creating a polished, enthralling musical panorama that washes the listener away. On a purely technical level, this album is unquestionably a high-quality product: the instrumental performances are all top-notch, Spiller’s vocals are very solid, and the mixing is fantastic.
Ultimately, there are a lot of individual elements to like about Luke Spiller’s debut solo album. The issue arises when you put them all together, because they don’t all combine in the way that Spiller likely intended them to. “Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine” is not a bad start to Luke Spiller’s solo career by any means, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
6.8/10
