Category Archives: Reviews

Echoes Reviews Falling You ‘Metanoia’ CD

Echoes Radio host John Diliberto has chosen Falling You’s new album, Metanoia, as the CD of the Month for March 2026. Not only will it be featured on the nationally syndicated program tomorrow night (Monday 3/2/26), but there is also a lovely review posted on the site.

Echoes March CD of the Month: ‘Metanoia’ by Falling You. Brush up on your Greek mythology when we journey from the ancient to the future with Falling You’s deliriously beautiful and poignant remaking of ancient, archetypal myths as searing dream pop.

Of the track that Ryan and Anji Lum contributed lyrics, vocals, instruments, and production to, Diliberto said:

The album ends with the third epic track, “Philomena,” named for the Christian martyr. It’s a tale which illustrates that Catholics could match Greek and Roman mythological legends in fantastical tales. Vocalist Anji Lum turns it into a fable of strength over adversity with Ryan Lum dropping-in ambient guitar textures and reverberant, blues-laced accents. It’s a track that ends the album as strong as it began.

Continue reading Echoes Reviews Falling You ‘Metanoia’ CD

Absynth Reviews “Secrets” Single

Music writer Karl Magi posted a lovely review of the duo’s latest single, “Secrets,” on the Absynth site. It reads, in part:

Lovespirals’ “Secrets” explores complexity and hurt within relationships. The song commences with levitating guitar strumming as Anji Lum’s whispery voice traces wordlessly through the music. Soon she begins to sing, her airy, fragile tones drifting smoothly while carrying a melody that mingles ache with approaching loss. The guitar returns as hushed drums brush softly across the track, the bass adding lush underpinnings beneath the delicate strumming. A floating synth moves through the music with disembodied grace…

Check out the full review of “Secrets,” which includes an embed of the lyric visualizer video, on Absyth.

Reviews of Falling You ‘Metanoia’

Reviews continue to emerge for Falling You’s Metanoia, released this past December. Several of them have mentioned Anji’s work on the album closer, “Philomena.”

New Age Music Reviews said of the track:

“Philomena,” also known as Saint Philomena or Philomena of Rome…wraps up this incredibly engaging and spacious musical offering with ambient synths, gorgeous piano notes, and magical vocals. Anji Lum takes her place amongst the many incredible women performers, vocalizing to the music like an angel sent from heaven. It is one minute short of another 10-minute musical journey of diverse sounds and textures to capture your imagination. Simply beautiful, like all the tracks you will hear prior to this closer.

Continue reading Reviews of Falling You ‘Metanoia’

Karl Magi Reviews “Without You”

SynthWriter80s posted a review of Lovespirals’ latest single on his HubPage devoted to synth music. It reads in part:

“The song opens with Ryan Lum’s guitar ringing with soothing smoothness and Anji Bee’s voice wrapping around me like a satin sheet. The beat is elegantly smooth… while the guitar echoes with chilled-out vibes. Anji Bee’s voice moves like smooth chocolate, flowing through the music as the trumpet in the distance exhales with a jazzy, emotive tone. The chorus brings lusciousness and sensuality … while the velvety melody unfolds. As the song drifts to an end, it is filled with the intensity of desire and wanting within the lyrics, while the keys and guitar create heartfelt feeling.”

Read the full “Without You” review by Karl Magi directly from his page.

Buy a digital download in your choice of formats from Bandcamp:

“Okay” Reviewed by Karl Magi on HubPages

Lovely to see another review by Karl Magi aka SynthWriter80s, this time of our new single, “Okay.” It reads, in part:

Lambent guitar notes ring while the spoken word segment trembles with distant melancholy. The way Anji Bee captures the emotion in the words is deeply touching as her emotive voice calls out with vulnerability. The drums and bass throb slowly beneath her as a flaring synth hovers and the wobbling guitar shifts uneasily.

Read the rest of this Lovespirals “Okay” review on HubPages


“Okay” is available now on Spotify, Apple MusicAmazon Music, YouTube Music and other streaming platforms under the original band name, Love Spirals Downwards, as well as on Bandcamp under both names.

“Will It Ever Be The Same (VIP Mix)’’ Review on HubPages

Synthwriter80s posted a review of Lovespirals’ new mix of “Will It Ever Be The Same” on his HubPages blog. It reads, in part:

“Lovespirals’ Will It Ever Be the Same (VIP Mix) expresses a deep sense of emotional invisibility and longing for connection. Piano moves with serenity and a pained emotional ache as vocals echo in the distance. Anji’s strongly expressive voice carries the wistfully caressing melody. The drums are a steady pulse and in the distance, a brilliant synth shines while the vocals trace through the music with intense gentleness. The sense of loss that permeates Anji’s performance fills me with melancholy. The drums continue to shape the music as the vocals glide with satiny ease, tinged by longing.”

Read Karl’s full review on his website.

Echoes Recommends Ornamental CD

John Diliberto of the nationally syndicated radio show Echoes has reviewed the new Projekt holiday compilation CD, Ornamental, for the Program Highlights section of their website. Entitled “It’s Christmas. Projekt Gets Ornamental,” it reads in part:

There are a lot of post-Cocteau Twins shoegazer ruminations on the album.  Autumn’s Grey Solace… Ashkelon Sain & the Dorian Fields… Unto Ashes… LoveSpirals, who had a couple of my favorite Excelsis songs, (“Welcome Christmas” in their Love Spirals Downwards edition and “Aspen Glow” as LoveSpirals) return with another evocative seasonal song, an original called “Happy Holidays” featuring Anji Bee, who sings it with sophisticated élan,  like she’s casting knowing glances over her shoulder against Ryan Lum’s chiming guitars.

I’ve been begging for musicians to create a different kind of seasonal music besides the rote rendering of the same 25 or so holiday chestnuts over-roasted on an open fire. Projekt has been fulfilling that since 1995 with Excelsis. Ornamental takes them in a slightly less gothic and doom-laden mode and makes it a likely pick for the best seasonal CD of 2012, if your tastes in seasonal music heads towards the abyss.

The review, featured in the Program Highlights section of the Echoes website,  features one of our Future Past band portraits taken by Susan Jennings, which was a nice surprise. You can pick up a copy of the 2-CD holiday collection, Ornamental, from Projekt Records.

Gothic Paradise Reviews Future Past

Internet radio station, Gothic Paradise, published a review of our 2010 album, Future Past, on their website. After a decade, Lovespirals have reconnected with this active source of music and information for the Gothic/Industrial/EBM/Ethereal communities, leading to the band being reinstated on their webzine, as well as having songs added into their show playlist.

Check out the Lovespirals band page on Gothic Paradise which includes a general bio and commentary on the band, plus reviews of both our first album, Windblown Kiss, and our most recent album, Future Past.

Below is the full review of Future Past by site founder, Jacob Bogedahl:

It has been ten years since we reviewed Windlbown Kiss here on Gothic Paradise.  Though this latest album was released a couple of years ago at the time of this writing, it’s good to go back and review it as we reintroduce this band to the pages of Gothic Paradise. It comes with eleven dreamy, downtempo pop pieces, exploring some diverse genres and hearkening back to the jazz sounds of years past.

As I’ve listened to this album over and over again to come up with a good description, one word keeps popping into my head and it’s one I’ve overused with the description of this duo and that’s “Jazzy”. Though there is a lot at play here, the prominent instruments are definitely a jazz guitar and/or electric piano coupled with Anji’s smooth vocals. The result is a very chilled out jazzy, downtempo pop sound. This is portrayed across all the smooth tracks starting with “Home” which comes out as a sentimental piece that any of us can relate to after being away from home for a while. The sultry, soft vocals take on deeper feeling across various pieces including the moodier tracks “Rain” and “One of Those Days”.

As we get about halfway through the album, a vibrant electronica style comes out on “Love” which actually brings back feelings of the early styles from this duo as well as just a touch of ethereal that fans should really love. Another dreamy highlight comes a bit later with “Meanwhile, Irreplaceable Time Flees”. This heavily ambient instrumental piece drifts along with some excellent guitar work keeping it grounded in the jazz style and dreamy moods. The regular tracks on the album wrap up with “Sinking” and “Believe” remaining on par with the rest of the album, as you listen to each track you can detect the common instruments and tempo which creates a homogenous style and mood that slowly drifts along with a soft groove. There are a couple of demos and a live piece as bonus material that die-hard fans will enjoy and with that it comes to a close.

There you have it, overall the band has really rooted themselves in a solid jazz-infused chillout pop style. We’ve seen the music transform slightly over the years as they’ve grown and explored their own styles and tastes. One thing seems sure, they seem to really be enjoying themselves over the years and with their music and that is the one thing I can highly recommend to any artist.
Rating: 4/5

Future Past in Majamaki Top 10 of 2011 List

Its always lovely to get good press, no matter how late or how obscure. California blogger, , has included Lovespirals in his Top 10 Music Albums of 2011, alongside Low, Thievery Corporation, Moby, Coldplay, Beastie Boys, and more.

Lovespirals – Future Past (Chillcuts 2010)

While this album was released in 2010, I discovered the album, and the band, this year. As a long time fan of the band Love Spirals Downward, who stopped producing new material in 1998, I had no idea that lead instrumentalist Ryan Lum made a new band with vocalist Anji Bee and released new music under the name Lovespirals. After discovering this I picked up 3 Lovespirals albums spanning the last decade, including; Windblown Kiss (2002), Long Way From Home (2007), and Future Past (2010).

For me, Future Past, is the strongest of the albums and it really stuck with me throughout the year. The music style is a little less etherial and dark when compared to Love Spirals Downward, instead it is more acoustic with subtle downtempo electronica that creates a dreamy pop soundscape. Soft hypnotic melodies with dreamy vocals in every song always puts me in a good mellow mood. Ryan even pays homage to Pink Floyd’s guitar intro from Shine on You Crazy Diamond with Meanwhile, Irreplaceable Time Flies. While I would love to hear a new Love Spirals Downward album, I don’t expect it to happen, however I do look forward to hearing what Lovespirals releases next.

Gothic Beauty Reviews Future Past

To our great surprise, Gothic Beauty included a review of Lovespirals’ 2010 album, Future Past, in the latest issue of their 80 page glossy color magazine. Gothic Beauty Issue 33 is available now at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Hastings, Chapters, Walden Books, Book World, Sheltam Books and Copperfield’s Books – or directly via gothicbeauty.com.

Reviewer Michael writes, in part:

“This album is designed for chill atmospheres. It reminds me of late nights at the bar and a jukebox loaded with good music. The song “Rain” is not to be missed — I’ve fallen in love with the song and want to have the song’s babies.”

Below is a scan of the full review:

Gothic Beauty Review 'Future Past'
Gothic Beauty Review ‘Future Past’ by Lovespirals

Re:Gen Mag Reviews Future Past

Re:Gen online magazine posted a review of the latest Lovespirals album:

Ryan Lum and Anji Bee go big on their fourth full-length album, adding ‘70s blues and progressive rock elements to their chilled out soul-tinged electronica.

Their fourth album together is a step into a bigger sound for Ryan Lum and Anji Bee. The duo’s fascination for ‘70s soul and jazz is amplified in Lum’s production, with the Rhodes piano that gave 2007’s Long Way from Home so much of its signature warmth joined by lush, almost disco-tinged strings on the languid, smokey “Rain” and the laidback but funky “Water Under the Bridge.” The guitars are bigger too, the spaced out progressive instrumental “Meanwhile, Irreplaceable Time Flees” segueing into the wah-wah-laced soul of “Insignificant.” Bee’s voice is stronger, more mature, and more powerful this time around as well; Lum and Bee have a reputation for love songs, but “Feel So Good” and “Shine” are positively lusty, highlighting both Bee’s range and her sensuality. The real standout on this album, though, is “Home,” which is more reminiscent of earlier Lovespirals songs in its cozy romantic vibe but features the best singing the pair have ever recorded, with subtle multi-tracking enhancing an already impressive vocal showing. 

While Future Past is undeniably warm throughout, there are also hints of the cooler, more dreamlike elements present in their earliest work. “Love” is the project’s most unabashedly electronic offering in years, all emphasis on the groovy breakbeats, and both “Shine” and “Believe” utilize softly insistent guitar strumming in the vein of Lum’s earlier project, Love Spirals Downward, in addition to the warmer grooves and subtle jazz instrumentation that characterize much of his work with Bee. The end result is an album that’s at once a leap forward and a fond glance back; the duo could hardly have picked a better title than Future Past.

— Matthew Johnson for regenmag.com
Future Past by Lovespirals on sale NOW!

All Music Guide Reviews Future Past

The All Music Guide posted a positive review of Lovespirals’ new album, Future Past, which reads, in part:

The combined approaches of Bee and Lum have created what is essentially a slinky soul album for the 21st century. One senses on songs like “Home” and “Sinking” that Bee and Lum have found a lovely balance between shoegaze’s love of reverb and texture and the richness of ’70s quiet storm at its best. “Shine,” with its build into a multi-tracked harmony from Bee and a gently majestic guitar part from Lum, and the similarly slow-burning “One of Those Days” are among the best standouts for the two as a team in perfect sync. – Ned Ragett

Read the entire review on Lovespirals All Music Guide page.