Late Slip
I Love You
Party Mermaid Records
All the songs on I Love You are about that particular emotion. Brooklyn based singer Chelsea Nenni must have had a rough love life, because most of the songs are about relationships that are in various stages of disarray, The only all-in love song is “New York City,” which is a love song to the city and the people who live there.
Late Slip thrives on retro-pop stylings. Nenni sounds like a barely urbanized Wanda Jackson. There is a bit of a country twang to her voice, and her songwriting has rockabilly and doo-wop undertones.
As I mentioned, the songs are pretty much all about romance gone bad. “I’ll Be OK” opens with the couplet “thought he should be with me / but he did not agree.” She sings about putting on a brave face when she’s around her crush. Ultimately, she concedes “I’ll be OK / It just hurts to be rejected.” That’s something we can all relate to.
The tribal beat of “Title Wave” fits the revenge fantasy. She sings about knocking out the Lothario and dreaming that he’ll get hit by a subway train. The reggae-tinged “Mind Your Business,” in turn disses a would-be suitor who won’t leave the singer alone.
The closing track is a fun, cow-punk version of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” The song’s theme of broken romance fits the theme of the album. Who knew Blondie would sound so good with the guitar twang turned all the way up?
