Rachel Love, former member of beloved British indie trio Dolly Mixture, has had her 2 solo albums reissued via Slumberland Records, both out now on vinyl for the first time. ‘Picture In Mind’ (originally 2021) arrives on orange vinyl alongside a repackaged CD, and ‘Lyra’ (originally 2024) on yellow vinyl LP with repackaged CD. Originally self-released as limited-edition CD-Rs, both records are now reaching the wider audience they’ve always deserved. Listen to the album sampler here.
‘Picture In Mind’ was recorded at home with close family support, built around Love’s softly sung, bossa-like vocals and fluid arrangements shaped with her late husband Steve Lovell. The album draws threads from Dolly Mixture’s baroque ‘Fireside E.P.,’ the reflective British pop of Saint Etienne, and the electronic folk melodies of Broadcast. It includes Love’s version of Dolly Mixture’s “Down The Line,” a collaboratively written song that in her hands drifts downstream, transformed by gentle electronic accompaniment into something intimate and luminous.
‘Lyra’ carries a different emotional gravity. Written and recorded after the passing of her husband Steve, and co-produced with care by David Lovell, the album is a tribute shaped in grief and released with extraordinary composure. BrooklynVegan’s Bill Pearis describes the records as sitting “somewhere between ’60s sunshine pop and the mid-’90s lounge revival,” while Austin Town Hall’s Nathan Lankford calls ‘Lyra’ “one of the best surprises pop fans have gotten this year.” The album draws on the ticking electronics of Stereolab’s quieter moments, the lushness of Air, and the sweet ache of Emma Anderson, while finding its own emotional register entirely.
‘Lyra’ was originally released with The Cat Collects, the label that also releases music by The Cleaners From Venus, an apt parallel for music this beautifully crafted on a small scale but sounding considerably larger. Love sings with an unforced, unadorned calm throughout both records, a quality that makes the depth of feeling on ‘Lyra’ land with particular force.
Dolly Mixture, the trio Love formed with Debsey Wykes and Hester Smith, remain a touchstone of early 80s British independent pop. Wykes has since become a regular member of Saint Etienne’s live band, a connection that makes the critical comparisons feel earned rather than convenient. Love’s solo work extends that lineage quietly and beautifully.
Both ‘Picture In Mind’ and ‘Lyra’ are out now via Slumberland Records on vinyl and CD.
‘Picture In Mind’ Track Listing:
Primrose Hill
Down The Line
No More
Dreaming
The Long Way Round
Far Away
Borrowed Time
Wandlebury
Easter Song
Look For The Gold
‘Lyra’ Track Listing:
Without You
Why
Sad and Lonely
Fly Me Away
Lyra’s Theme
April Love
I Lost Myself
What Was It For
Alone
All Across the World