Gramercy Arms is a revolving New York based collective of musicians and artists, masterminded by main songwriter/producer Dave Derby (Dambuilders/Lloyd Cole) along with Rainy Orteca, Sean Eden and Kevin March. The group is releasing its second full-length record, The Seasons of Love...

The Season of Love contains 10 tracks (35 min, 28 sec) and is a timeless journey through endless summers of the past, present and future. This is an upbeat, pop-based album that gets better, and puts you in a more positive frame of mind, the more you listen to it.

From the '60s/'70s uplifting sounds of 'Always in Love' to the more modern approach of album closer 'Thin', this is an album that is a joy from start to finish.

This album was five years in the making, and the attention to detail shows. It features Lloyd Cole and Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Tanya Donelly (Belly, Throwing Muses), Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Kendall Meade (Sparklehorse), Claudia Gonson (Magnetic Fields), Doug Gillard (Guided By Voices), Erin Moran (A Girl Called Eddy), Renee LoBue (Elk City), Kay Hanley (Letters To Cleo) and others.

Highlights include the powerful duet 'Beautiful Disguise' with vocals delivered by Lloyd Cole and Joan Wasser; 'The Night Is Your Only Friend' (which reminded me of the Stereophonics 'Have a Nice Day'); the '90s indie sound of 'Novemberlong'; and 'The Season of Love' which has a '70s jazz vibe.

To be fair though there isn't a dull track here. If you're looking for a timeless album of memorable summer singles... you've found it.

9

Nick Smithson