When Steve Lacey shouts you out on his profile, you know you made one hell of an album. The singer, who’s busy promoting his own project Oh yeah?, took the time to promote Love Spells, his debut album. ‘Beautiful album. Beautiful voice. Yes yes yes.’ We couldn’t agree more! Tonight, we attend the Love Is The Law World Tour, and the excitement to hear how his music translates into a live setting is off the roof.
It’s the very first time Love Spells is visiting Berlin. And the first visit is off to a good start. He is here to play a sold-out show at Kantine am Berghain. His fans have come together to sing along to their favorite songs from the debut album Love Is The Law and, of course, all the music that came before the arrival of this excellent body of work. The stage welcomes a band of three and, of course, the star of the show. Right off the bat, it’s clear the chemistry between the musicians is undeniable. The foursome are here to have a great gig.
His music is full of romance and love-themed songs. Each one explores desire, devotion, obsession, heartbreak and surrender. This theme runs through the production of the album, the songwriting and, of course, his beautiful falsetto voice. In a recent interview, the singer revealed he started singing like this because he wanted to sound like a female artist. He wanted to sound delicate and soft, almost as if he were singing a lullaby. This comes through perfectly in his recorded music. In the live setting, however, it tends to get a little more rock ’n’ roll.
The night is anything but a live rendition of lullabies. Quite the opposite, it’s a wake-up call to everyone who had been sleeping on Love Spells during the start of his career. He blasts out one song after another with full energy, largely thanks to his equally energetic band. It’s songs like ‘Heart For Eyes’ and ‘Don’t Touch’ that have the whole crowd two-stepping away while the singer and his band are dancing like there is no tomorrow. Expect a shirtless Love Spells laying on the floor, jumping up and down, guitar riffing and even a run into the crowd to dance with his fans.
We keep it soft and tender in all the right places of the show. Our favorite songs sound more beautiful than ever in the live setting. Love Spells gets at his sexiest and most romantic for ‘Kiss Me Slow This Time’. While he sings his heart out, we slowly melt away on the floor. Two highlights during the evening go to ‘Crutch’ and ‘Keep It To Yourself’. Both are pure perfection on the album, and hearing them live for the very first time has us falling even more in love.
Having Love Spells on a small stage right here in Berlin confirms one thing: the stage he and his band are performing on will only grow bigger and bigger in the years to come. His signature high falsetto is already such a distinctive part of his sound, but imagine the possibilities when he starts exploring every side of his voice, from high to low. There is something incredibly exciting about an artist who already has such a unique identity while still having so much room to grow. Love Spells is only getting started.