LOVE SICK today present their debut mixtape ‘SICK’. Released alongside a new video for ‘U R’, the mixtape finds the Scottish alt/electro duo living up to the immense potential they demonstrated with their acclaimed early tracks ‘Bullet’ and ‘Fever’. Listen HERE.
Entirely written and produced by the duo, ‘SICK’ sees the duo explore the sizzling tension and tender subtleties that can make or break relationships. Channelling late night hedonism, it dives into a multitude of reference points including Miley Cyrus’ eclectic ‘SHE IS COMING’, Mark Ronson’s heartbreak anthem collection ‘Late Night Feelings’ as well as the festival-conquering Caribou and woozy electronic maverick Kaytranada.
LOVE SICK commented, “The mixtape is about the ups and downs of relationships. From euphoric moments to breaking up and making up, going through heaven and hell for someone you love and how love sometimes doesn’t feel like love.”
In addition to the two recent singles, ‘SICK’ introduces three new tracks which delve into the experiences that add a darkly enticing addiction to LOVE SICK’s exploratory cocktail of electro angst, alt-pop and ominous R&B: namely that love is a package of pleasure and pain in which tenderness and trauma present themselves at almost random intervals.
That rollercoaster ride is charted with utmost honesty on ‘U R’. Julie Knox’s impassioned voice contrasts the highs and lows of romance within the same line, the target of her affections being simultaneously like morphine and cocaine, like weekends and Mondays. Shaun Canning’s synths and beats add to the woozy intoxication and uncertainty, as the hook proves that love is indeed sick: “We break up, we make up, then we fight. Every night.”
The song’s accompanying video makes for a strong introduction to the LOVE SICK live experience. Julie channels the song’s conflicts into a performance with an charismatic allure that’s somehow both bewitching and understated, while Shaun is animated in the background, bathed in moody, atmospheric lighting. The video was directed by Luigi Calabrese.
‘SICK’ is completed by ‘High Highs’ which – naturally – is just as much about the lowest of lows, while ‘Lose Sleep’ possesses a soaring seductive topline and sweetly twisted synth textures to heighten the feverish intensity of its lustrous lyrics.
‘SICK’ is the first installment of two interconnected mixtapes that LOVE SICK will release this year. This first chapter is the more leftfield and lo-fi of the two sets, with the second promising to be a brighter counterpoint to the darker themes that this current mixtape prioritises.
