lowly loverboi is an indie pop band from New York consisting of Tica Douglas, Jenny Nelson and Gracie Pizzo. Their bio states that they formed around Halloween in 2017, a fact that may or may not be significant, and this August saw the release of their debut single, Dumb Phone / Graveyards in Space, all recorded in a home studio in Ridgewood, Queens.
You might recognise Douglas from the solo project under their own name, with the excellent our lady star of the sea, help and protect us released by Team Love Records last year. While lowly loverboi operate with something of a different tone (in no small part thanks to the Casio keyboards), the strong and imaginative writing perseveres. ‘Dumb Phone’ unfurls in hypnotic rhythm, the playful digital bloops of the keyboard lending a naivety familiar to the twee folk pop genre, though Douglas’ vocals maintain an amusing self-awareness that subverts kitschy performance into something more earnest and winsome.
“47 voicemails
half are from my grammy
the other half are robots
sent from space to scam mei know when i’ve lost control
you know you wont stop”
‘Graveyards in Space’ is more reminiscent of Tica Douglas’ solo work, a rich and detailed song that balances small observations and details with confessional emotion, all bound together by an encompassing warmth. The Casio still present though slightly more jaded, fading back into nostalgic haze that eventually comes to incorporate whistling too, producing the kind of disarming sadness that comes with the passing of time.
“spent my morning with two sisters of mercy
sister pat and in the front sister eileen
eastern parkway’s where i learned their history
gave her three options, she chose to be at peace”
We’re delighted to be able to share a special double feature for the release. Shot, directed and edited by Pizzo, the film is essentially two music videos back to back, though the flow from one to another allows for a degree of narrative progression and thematic linkage that might not be otherwise present. Act 1, aka ‘Dumb Phone’, finds Douglas and Nelson in a park, shooting hoops and playing with dogs and generally having a good time. The scene is in stark contrast to Act 2, ‘Graveyards in Space’ set to the pair wandering a cemetery in low evening light, the contemplative flip-side to the carefree spirit of the first.
However, the more you watch the features, the more such a juxtaposition seems to fade. Both videos are concerned with life, with being alive, and both seem set up to best capture the moments when this feeling is most striking.
Dumb Phone / Graveyards in Space is out now and you can snag it from the lowly loverboi Bandcamp page.
album artwork by alabaster pizzo