Lo-Tide Review: “Luke Lovekin – Generation Z”

‘Excuse me is this cubical free?’

A review of ‘Luke Lovekin – Generation Z’.

Written by Joe Hough.

Luke Lovekin is a budding artist based in Stoke, UK, with a sound influenced by Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Jeff Buckley. His latest single ‘Generation Z’ has just dropped. Luke’s previous releases have all had something intriguing, including the reverb heavy, soulful vocals and soft jazzy guitar in ‘Sick Kinda Love Mystery’, the way the vocal switches to falsetto in ‘Right To Be Young’ or the stabby keys and intimacy of the chorus in ‘My Deadly Valentine’. Luke Lovekin has solidified his sound now and his latest track, ‘Generation Z’, doesn’t differ too greatly while still offering something fresh and interesting.

‘Generation Z’ seems to describe the behaviour that you would expect to see in a modern bar or club. It highlights bad manners, distasteful drug use and misogyny as the epitome of the doomed ‘Generation Z’.

The track opens with a lo-fi drumbeat, which reminds me of Bonham’s (Led Zeppelin) early drum sound, before Luke’s soft, conversational vocals are matched with a thumping bassline, releasing the depths of the tune straight off the bat. Lyrics like ‘excuse me is this cubical free? Looks like you’ve been baking cakes whilst you pee on the seat’ is a great example of how Luke uses the mundanity he’s observed in life to create witty, anecdotal lyrics.

What instantly hit me with this track more than any of his previous releases is that I hadn’t the foggiest where the track was going at times, and that makes for a rather thrilling listen. A stripped back pre-chorus going straight back into the verse adds tension. Then when the chorus does hit half-way through, Luke’s vocals change from the soft, whisper in your ear sound to give you 30 seconds of legitimate passion which shines through the instrumentation, giving the song dynamics and adding drama.

The track flows nicely into a mid-section, lavished with atmospheric synth sounds, a very unexpected switch to a sound that almost emulates one of Talking Heads / Brian Eno, I’ve been told Beck Clewlow is partly to thank. This refreshes the track and gives your ears chance to calm before the outro hits you, layering a gut busting solo over the instrumental for the verse. The distorted sound of the guitar reminding me strangely of a pod racer from Star Wars.

Luke says his plans involve ‘live shows with my band, the ‘Corner Boys’ and Development of character and production. Shaggin, more Aldi wines, catching flights not Covid and taking my Mum for afternoon tea.’

I’d recommend listening to his new track and hope you can catch his set with the Corner Boys when it’s safe and we’re all out listening to local music again, I’d definitely like to see how ‘Generation Z’ sounds live.

Stream ‘Generation Z’ Below;