Sam Allen’s project, Tuff Luv, grew out of the initial rough period of the Covid pandemic in the spring of 2020. Just as his band WYLDLIFE was set to drop their rock n’ roll masterpiece Year of The Snake, covid happened, derailing their album release plans and any thoughts of touring that went along with it. From that point on —and too much pent-up energy for a little apartment in Brooklyn —Tuff Luv was born. The Tuff Luv EP is a retro-synth collection of tunes with a dash of rock n’ roll. Allen hopes you’ll feel some feels and laugh some laughs, but most of all he’s determined to make you dance! The album was recorded and mixed by the artist at his apartment in Brooklyn, and in his parent’s garage in upstate New York. Allen used a SM7 for vocals, SM57 for guitars, and an Audio Technica 4033 for percussion and vocals, did the MIDI programming in Logic and the recording and mixing in Pro Tools. Mastered by Kevin Blackler at Blackler Mastering in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the EP is Allen’s solo-project debut. In his other band, Allen plays guitar and co-writes the songs, but this was his first time doing everything himself. From programming the drums, playing the guitars, and even making the makeshift shakers out of quinoa and sesame seeds.
The first track “Nothing” is an upbeat dance song about breakups and the feeling of having to start over. The beginning melody between the guitar and synths is just great! A fantastic, danceable rhythm that’s one-part new wave/post-disco ‘80s and newer style of indie. Definitely a fun song to listen, despite breakups not being, well, all that fun. “Front Seat” is the single release to the EP and it’s about looking back at the feeling of being in high school and aimlessly driving around without a care in the world – Ah yes, if only. Allen says it’s “still dance-y but a bit more guitar oriented.” The mix of synths, layered one over the other, has a very classic ‘80s sound – I’d say somewhere between Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, and other English pop bands from the ‘80s. In my opinion, Tuff Luv tapped into that era of pop music quite well. The next tune “Can’t Make Me” is a more aggressive song with heavy distorted synth, sarcastically angsty lyrics and a break-down featuring T-Pain lyrics. The beginning bass is fuzzy and raw, and the lyrics are edgy with attitude. This tune branches off into a different direction and takes the listener into a journey of styles – industrial, dark pop punk and maybe even a little goth. Great song! The last track “Social Disconnecting” has more of a ‘90s vibe (think “Steal My Sunshine” by Len) and features ironic lyrics about staying inside during quarantine. What I liked about this tune was the drum track and bass melody. The song’s overall vibe and/or approach reminded me of the EDM music from the mid-‘90s (on the chilled-out side) and what U2 did on Zooropa (I’m thinking “Some Days are Better Than Others” or “Dirty Day”). I think Beck even jumped on this bandwagon for a while. I also liked the short sing-along at the end, too. All points taken, Tuff Luv’s debut is a good sampler of both and new and old synthwave sounds, indie, pop and punk. I hope we can hear more solo stuff from this Brooklyn artist, with or without a pandemic.
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