Published on Nov 29, 2022
A project spearheaded by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Ivan Mairesse, this album was originally released in 2020, and it collects songs penned between 2015 and 2017 in San Francisco, before he retreated back to his hometown of Los Angeles.
“I Know Where I'm Going” gets the album off to a retro-pop start, where Paul Korte's bass and guitar, Dylan Edrich's piano and Geoff Morriss' saxophone complement Mairesse's smooth and warm vocals. From there, “Desert Shore” is quite dreamy with its well-timed keys, swirling guitar and crisp drumming, while “Say Something Nice” gets intimate in its expressive, folk-influenced delivery.
Nearing the middle, “Doo Doo Doo” offers a poetic and very pretty display of ’70s friendly soft-rock, and “Age Of 9” welcomes a bit of atmosphere into the thicker climate that thumps playfully amid its rugged, mysterious and harmonic gestures.
The final few tunes are the best, where the timeless singer-songwriter appeal of “Garden So Slow” finds plenty of melodies and even some grit, too, though “Call Me Closer” is the absolute highlight, as the lush, jangly pop flows with a bit of cautiousness alongside so much charm. The closing title track is certainly lovely with its romantic demeanor.
Mairesse handles vocals, piano, synthesizer, acoustic guitar and percussion here, and on all but the first track, Jason Kick acts as engineer, mixer, and plays several different guitars as well as vibraphone and synth. Additionally, Jon Wujcik contributes drums/percussion and Mark Ashworth provides bass.
Now available in physical form for the first time, Lovely Music appears on yellow vinyl. For most of us, myself included, this will serve as an introduction to Sagittaire and his tender yet darkly worded pop that somehow sounds both vintage and modern.