illusionofjoy | OTR: Book of Love

Released in 1992, Lovebubble was Book of Love's 4^th and final album. Only two tracks from this disc made it onto the compilation disc I Touch Roses: The Best of Book of Love: "Hunny Hunny" (in remixed form) and "Chatterbox, Pt. 2." Diving into Lovebubble as a whole, it's easy to see why - these are the two strongest tracks on the disc. By 1992, it seems that the band was running out of ideas. It's a paint by numbers album; sure, it's functional and might even be somewhat appealing at times, but it lacks a passionate, creative spark.

The opening tracks seem to have some sort of oddball 1970s vibe to them, as "Sunday A.M." sounds like something Gary Numan might have done right before going solo (at least until Susan Ottaviano starts singing) while they cover David Bowie's "Sound and Vision." Meanwhile, "Hunny Hunny," while not a misspelled cover of "Honey, Honey" sounds very Abba-influenced.

The first four tracks of Lovebubble would have made a nice EP, as things get really embarrassing starting with "Trouble in a Bubble." As if the rhyming couplet weren't enough, repeated incessantly, the sound effects make the song even more of a saccharine chore to listen to. In fact, a huge flaw of this album is how many "futuristic" sound effects keep popping up in the mix, making this sound very dated - even back in 1992. It's all downhill from there...in a manner of blandness and not amusing badness, sadly enough.

I never listened to this album much. In fact, I think this might be the first or second time I've actually listened to it all the way through...and now I know why.

Lovebubble is for hardcore fans only, or curious fools such as yours truly.