Lovespirals

Married partners Ryan Lum and Anji Bee, who also performs as Anji Lum, guide Lovespirals in a refined strain of dream pop colored by jazzy sophisti-pop, soft rock, and soul, with occasional forays into trip-hop, lounge, and house. The pair coalesced near the millennium’s start and issued their opening full-length, the slowly unfolding Windblown Kiss, in 2002; its atmospheric blend drew from multiple styles. Five years later Free & Easy fused that foundation with electronica and trip-hop. Subsequent efforts such as the 2007 release Long Way from Home and 2010’s Future Past further refined their cross-genre dream pop approach, while selected singles leaned toward club formats; the Cocteau Twins-referencing Life Goes On arrived as their fifth album in 2018. Two decades after the debut, reverb-drenched singles “Smile” and “The Call” surfaced in 2022.

Los Angeles musician Ryan Lum originated Lovespirals as a side project from Love Spirals Downwards, the earlier endeavor that featured vocalists Suzanne Perry, Jennifer Ryan Fuller, and Jennifer Wilde. Anji Bee, already active with Projekt Records, joined as lead singer; the addition, together with minor directional adjustments, prompted the name change to Lovespirals. Such incremental sonic evolutions became characteristic. One of the first offerings under the new name was a drum’n’bass treatment of the holiday standard “Little Drummer Boy” in 1999. The breakbeat-centered EP Ecstatic followed in late 2001, featuring prior Lum associates Doron Orenstien on saxophone and Gabriel D. Vine on Rhodes piano.

Lovespirals’ initial album Windblown Kiss reached listeners in June 2002, emphasizing dream pop yet retaining touches of alt-country, psych-folk, and lounge within a spacious, yearning atmosphere. After moving from Projekt Records to Chillcuts and following Lum and Bee’s marriage, the September 2005 sequel Free & Easy shifted toward dancefloor material colored by trip-hop and sophisti-pop while welcoming Orenstein back on saxophone. Although preview singles arrived amid numerous remixes, the duo returned to pop-focused work with the sultry Long Way from Home in 2007. Expanded remix EPs for tracks such as “Love” and “Feels So Good” preceded the fourth album Future Past, first offered via the band’s site in late 2009 and then issued officially on New Year’s Day 2010.

While maintaining ties with acts including Karmacoda and Falling You and contributing to various compilations, the pair resurfaced with the Bee-composed “Happy Holidays” in December 2013, which incorporated a 2010 disco rendition and a 2012 shoegaze reworking. Bee issued her solo album Love Me Leave Me in late 2014; recorded with Lum, who shared credits for programming, arrangements, mixing, and production, the set blended fresh interpretations of songs by favored collaborators with original material. Five years in preparation, Life Goes On, the fifth Lovespirals LP, appeared in late 2018. Citing Cocteau Twins as a central influence, the record saw Lum deliberately revisit earlier sonic touchstones after nearly three decades of technological change. The three-song EP Smile followed in March 2022, joined by the July single “The Call.” The atmospheric house cut “Lonely Sunset” appeared in September 2022.