Interviewing Sara Lov was interesting for a couple of reasons. First off, I had never interviewed a female musician before. It might just be because the majority of music I listen to is made by men. That's not a conscious decision on my part - It just seems that for whatever reason, the music that strikes a proverbial chord with me is written by fellas and I'm lucky enough to almost exclusively interview bands I am a fan of. That doesn't leave a lot of room for me to interview ladies. Also, I'd never interviewed anyone who had been kidnapped before. Nor to my knowledge had I ever interviewed anyone who had a parent that committed suicide.Sara Lov, interestingly enough, was kidnapped. And not only was she kidnapped but she was kidnapped by her father who later committed suicide. Obviously, Sara is also a lady, making all the things I listed above suddenly pertinent.
Stories of parental issues tug at my heartstrings, especially when the tales involve a dead dad, but somewhat strangely, it was probably Sara's gender that had me the most nervous about the interview. To say I'm most comfortable around the opposite sex is an understatement. I would go so far as to say that girls make me feel occasionally uneasy. Plus, the fact that I can't flirt my way to a good interview is unsettling to me (Well, there's my big secret to a successful interview, folks). Within ten minutes of talking to Sara, however, I discovered she was as lovely as her music is. Plus, anyone who delivers a stellar cover of an Arcade Fire song is alright by me.
My interview with Sara Lov is live at TRACER now, and being reminded of it has put me in a very Sara Lov mood for the time being. She calls her songs simple and sad with a shot of scotch and I can't think of a more apt way to describe her sound. After a kidnapping and a dead dad, Sara Lov has everything in the world to be sad about but her music isn't depressing per se - It's more about the overwhelming sense of longing that creeps up from time to time when you realize life isn't always how you imagined it being.
While "Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming" is the track off Sara's debut that's received the most play in Hot Half Life HQ, it's her song "Animals" that first drew me to her. I'll admit that the reason I checked her out was not my own doing - In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Sea Wolf's Alex Brown Church guests on the song, I'm sure Sara's cd would have sat on my ever-growing pile of "discs to listen to eventually" for a lot longer than it did. But who am I to resist the call of a Dangerbird Records artist? I came for the Sea Wolf but I stayed with the album due to the intricate lyrics, the gorgeous guitar, and the dreamy, vaguely sad sensation that the music left me with. Like I said - Sara Lov is full of longing and at the time when I first heard her album, so was I.
"Animals" is a special song. It's so special that it almost makes me want to date a boy, fall madly in love, have it all gone horrifically bad, and be left heartbroken just so I can make a mix cd that sums up my relationship with said fictional boy and include this song as the centerpiece.
Sara Lov featuring Alex Brown Church - Animals
(Note: It has crossed my mind that Sara Lov and I would make a ridiculously cute lesbian couple if only for the fact that we could both hyphenate our last names to 'Valentine-Lov'.)
