Label: Big Scary Monsters
Released: 13th March 2020
Rating: ★★★★
To reference Paramore’s ‘After Laughter’ when talking about Orchards’ debut full- length ‘Lovecore’ is the ultimate in tributes. Run through with the same tropical brilliance and juxtaposing party-while-the- room-burns dynamics, opener ‘Sincerely Overwhelmed’ is nothing short of glorious.
This is far from a one-trick album, mind. ‘Girlfriend’ is a vampy, bombastic monster, while ‘Social Sobriety’ is a spoken word, twinkling pause. It’s the album’s centrepiece ‘Magical Thinking’ that really stands out, though. As spellbinding as its name suggests, it’s a rush of sparkling joy – an apt description for a band tapping into something genuinely special.
