The Music Lovers: Guide for Young People (Le Grand Magistery)
release: September 5, 2006
styles: sorta chamber pop indie rock
similar: Stars, the Blood Group, Tindersticks
rating: *

Margaret Cho's "favorite band"? Gee. That doesn't say much for Cho. She's not all that anyway. Le Grand Magistery has always been a respectable indie label, with a roster including Momus and Mascott among others. The Music Lovers, whose brilliant name suggests this could be the ultimate indie rock experience, isn't able to deliver anything near that level. The baritone vocals are unnatural and uneven, while the music, a conglomeration of Brit pop and cabaret, is all tangled in mundane arrangements. Whatever heartbroken or romantic things they want to share are lost. -Kenyon