The Love / Love Translation

For their fourth proper album, Portland quartet Blanket Music gathered in the former South Portland Library to self-record a collection of love songs rooted wholly in earnestness. They came away with not only their fourth, but their fifth album as well – collected here in a two-disc set entitled The Love/Love Translation. The Love weaves through a pastiche of pop idioms while showcasing the intrinsically unique artistry of the four members, embracing their strengths and limitations confidently. They continue to build on their reputation for pop eclecticism, each song representing an artistic metamorphosis in the tradition of The Beatles and David Bowie. Love Translation collects love songs written by friends, largely presented s “interpretations.”Well-known ballads from The Decemberists and MWard have equal footing among the up-and-comers and underexposed alike, all of who bear some relation to Crouch’s HUSH label. With this disc, Blanket Music have not only memorialized their music community, but created a compelling album in the lost tradition of covering contemporaries unabashedly, offering up alternate versions with gusto.