Despite loving their debut Grab That Gun, the fact that  guitarist Debora Cohen left The Organ some time ago (presumably before the whole band broke up) completely went over my head.

Apparently she took a hiatus from music entirely, not even picking up her instruments for quite a while. She was eventually lured back though and is now playing under the name Lovers Love Haters together with James Thomas, Mar Sellars, Thomas Wykes and James Hoare.

What first strikes me when listening to the Lovers Love Haters EP is that Cohen obviously didn’t leave her former band because of musical differences. LLH sounds exactly like The Organ: moody indie-pop with The Smiths-esq guitars and slightly androgynous vocals. One might wonder what the point is then but it’s not like The Organ had a copyright on a sound that was mostly recycled anyway, especially since the band has been defunct since 2006.

So if anything I’m glad Cohen and co. are bringing the sound back because they do it well. Debora has a haunting and original voice that fits the music perfectly and the songs are all top-notch. While reading the lyrics I wonder if “Skin and Bones” is about Debora herself, after departing with The Organ, leaving her native Canada and moving to England where she still remains:

What will you do now?
You can’t live on paper and dreams
But still you belong where the winters are long
Now you’re old, a lie who came from the cold
England just swallowed you whole
London just swallowed you whole

And now you’re skin and bones, just skin and bones
Lost and found in the underground
You’re skin and bones, just whispers and moans
Lost and found in the underground…

Though still unsigned, a full length with Lovers Love Haters is planned for this year as well as a tour in England.

~ “Poison” ~