1/26/2011 Pick of the Moment: Ana Lovelis

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Ana Lovelis

Not long ago, I got an email from Ana Lovelis, a Philly-born/New York-based artist, inviting me to
check out her website. So I went to www.analovelis.com, and was treated immediately to the video for
her song "I'm a Girl". The video, the song, and the Girl were all irresistibly clever, whimsical and fun.

In other words, I was instantly hooked. And I still am.

I've mentioned in the past how I rate talent based on how badly my pathologically-low self-esteem
makes me feel in comparison to said talent. Yeah, I'm weird that way. Well, the album Nothin But Love
by Ana Lovelis resulted in an afternoon of pointed self-rebuke, followed by 24 hours of deep
dissatisfaction with my path in life. It's that good.

Nothin But Love is a bit of an odd duck. It's a Pop album that self-consciously uses all of the tricks of
the Pop music trade, while at the same time raging against the major-label machine that consistently
turns out music that is not nearly as good as this. The album works because Ana Lovelis is a real
person, not a persona whipped-up by a marketing committee in order to sell posters. And yet...she
would look really good on a poster. I'm sure that creating such a paradox is what gets Ms Lovelis up in
the morning.

"I'm a Girl" is another Ana Lovelis paradox. Musically, it's a Pop masterpiece, and it deserves to be a
Top 10 hit. Which would be great, because I can imagine the millions of 13-year-old girls who will be
singing I'm a girl, I have no brain / Dumb enough to think you'd change / But smart enough to get your

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1/26/2011 Pick of the Moment: Ana Lovelis
attention. Subversive? Probably not, but one can only hope. In any case, sharp lyrics are clearly the
weapon of choice for Ana Lovelis. Later in the same song, she says I smile sweetly while you go at em
/ Tak es longer to split the atom.

The rest of the songs on Nothin But Love range from the rocking title track to the thoughtful self-
examination of "Venus", "Kinda Girl you Love" and "Bipolar Girl". Yes, that makes three tracks on the
album with "girl" in the title. Clearly, Ms Lovelis identifies strongly and honestly with her femininity.
"Kinda" is about pushing away a man who is looking for more than a casual relationship. But is it
because she has too much confidence, or too little? I don't wanna k now that you're into me / That you'd
carry me away and marry me / I just wanna go on lying to myself.

"Come Down on Me" and "Satellite Sunday" show Ana Lovelis' extraordinary range of styles, with the
former sounding like a Faith Hill ballad, and the latter like an incredible, lost Madonna track. And
although she identifies as a "girl", the songs "Wet" and "Polluted Heart" obviously come from a woman
who owns her sexuality, and isn't afraid to use it. This is a welcome contrast to the commoditized
teases of major-label Pop princesses. Normally one would have to seek out an Indie artist for some
honest sexuality. There are exceptions to the rule, and I'm glad to see that Ana Lovelis is one of them.

And when we reach the final track, "Mother of a Hit Song", we see what the album and the artist are
really all about. In the vein of Pavement's "Cut Your Hair", Ana Lovelis has written a song
expressing the frustration of an artist who is expected to write a hit song. Oh hell, it's easier if you just
read the chorus: Cause maybe if I write a big fat motherfuck ing hit song / Put it out and have a fuck ing
sing along / Maybe that's when the world pays attention to me...

I know I'M paying attention. "Nothin But Love" blew me away. In a year that has seen
some surprisingly high-quality Pop releases, this one tops them all. This is truly an artist to watch, and
I can't wait to see Ana Lovelis beat the shit out of everybody's expectations. Give the artist her due, and
buy this album.

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