Published on Mar 15, 2014
Solveig Whittle and Stevie Adamek are unsung heroes of the underground. Most recently, Solveig has been the driving force behind Seattle's Shades Of Red and has a couple of solid indie folk albums under her belt. Adamek's history goes way back to his time in The Allies, who famously were one of the first bands to have a video on rotation for MTV. Lately, Adamek has spent more time behind the scenes and is known for producing many outfits across all genres of music. Together, the pair takes a massive amount of experience and skill and applies it to this very eclectic and stylish set of tunes.
Solveig & Stevie don't waste a second here, nor do they have time to – it's a quick listen at less than half an hour. Title track “Zombie Lover” blends forceful rock with a darker edge and a memorable chorus, giving us a great, tense pop rock opener. From there, it's accomplished genre skipping, with the hazy, prog-influenced “Creation,” the '70s sounds and dual gender vocals of “Keep Your Eyes On Your Heart,” and the folksy “I Just Can't Breathe,” which actually has rap moments.
The final few songs are some of the best, though there isn't a moment here I wouldn't categorize as anything but fantastic. “Fire” shows us male dominance on the vocals and a good mix of classic versus modern rock, and “Waiting On Thunder” unveils pianos and a more ballad like atmosphere, though not in the traditional sense. The disc closes on “Menta E Romarino,” a textured, melodic and soaring ending to a brief but triumphant listen.
Diversity is definitely the duo's strongpoint, and lucky for us, they are quite adept at whatever genre they take on. On this disc, they manage to treat us to some of the best sounds from the last four decades in just seven tracks. It's pretty rare that flutes, programming and groove filled rock all sound right at home on one album, but Zombie Lover is that anomaly in all the best ways.”