In February, a British band called Lovejoy released their lead single “Call Me What You Like” (CMWYL) for their new EP “Wake Up and It’s Over” which was released on May 12th to many fans’ delight. 

With just over a year and a half since Lovejoy’s last EP “Pebble Brain”, many people were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new work from the group. 

Ever since the release of CMWYL in February, I have been eagerly waiting for the band to finally release the EP, and once I got home on the 12th, one of the very first things I did was sit down in front of my computer and open Spotify to spend the next 21 minutes of my life listening to the EP and it really didn’t disappoint.

Starting with “Portrait of a Blank Slate,” I was immediately hit with an incredibly catchy rhythm that continued to stick in my head even after the song was long over. But the song’s rhythm isn’t the only incredible thing this song has to offer. 

The lyrics of “Portrait of a Blank Slate” tell the story of a person who has just recently lost someone incredibly dear to them and in response to this, they close themselves off. Eventually, they come to find someone new and become very attached to them. The main character of the song goes as far as admitting they will “wait here for you” and beg this new person to just let them stay in their life as the song ends with an apology that their actions are so predictable. 

It’s just incredible to me how the lead singer, Wilbur Gold, manages to weave together this narrative in the song that’s so compelling and that we as listeners can relate to in parts and it just goes to show his talent as a lyricist. 

The second song of the EP is ironically, the first that the band exposed us to. CMWYL has to be my favorite song out of all of them. The song starts strong once again with a highly memorable guitar riff that gets you hooked on the music immediately before the rest of the instruments chime in creating an incredible musical experience. This is an experience that I haven’t been able to find in any other song either before or after the release of CMWYL and I genuinely hope that I don’t find it anywhere else. 

The lyrics of CMWYL likewise are just absolutely incredible. They tell the story of a person trying to come to terms with their significant other cheating on them. They come to realize that this person they’re with is going to kill them if they stay with them for the rest of their life. 

Time and time again, Gold demonstrates his ability to write stories that we can relate to in some way or another. With CMWYL, it’s put on full display throughout the whole song and it’s something I admire him for.

The fourth song in the EP is Warsaw. Taking place in the latter half of the EP, Warsaw starts the trend of the last three songs having a more upbeat feeling than the first three. With Warsaw, I was immediately hit by fast and loud drums with a backing guitar before they faded off to something softer with the lyrics coming in immediately after. This trend continues throughout the whole song and in my opinion, really adds to the allure of the song as a whole. 

Overall, the EP has a completely different tone than the last two EPs the band released. Wake Up and It’s Over clearly is meant to show people that Lovejoy is going in a new direction with their music and I am excited to see what they do with their next project.