In the midst of an international panorama where the word “war” makes more than one headline in every newspaper, Love of Lesbian has formed an army, a Salvation Army which is nothing else but those people we have next to us and without whom it would be very difficult for us to get ahead. That is the name of his new album, which his friend and also singer Leiva opted for, and which went on sale on October 11. The Catalan band presented it a few days ago at one of the EL PAÍS+ meetings at the Teatro Pavón, in Madrid, led by journalist Laura Piñero.
After 25 years working together and sharing friendship, the group releases this album that champions those fraternal ties above those of love. “There was a lack of songs that were dedicated to friendship, there are many songs made since the Pleistocene about romantic love, and friendship claims other types of things, such as loyalty,” explained Santi Balmes, vocalist of the group.
The seed of this work was a common tattoo they got in Los Angeles while on tour. Like those couples who get married after more than two decades together, when no one expects it and it seems meaningless, Love of Lesbian (Santi Balmes, Julián Saldarriaga, Jordi Roig and Oriol Bonet) has sealed their friendship permanently . The chosen design was the poet Halley, the protagonist of the eponymous album they released in 2016. “After so many years, the four of us have something marked on our skin, in addition to what unites us, which is music and 25 years of experience.” said Bonet, drummer. “There is something much more important that also unites us and that is the current account,” guitarist Roig joked, making the audience laugh.
The topic of friendship returned to the conversation on several occasions. Roig took the opportunity to confess that, despite that quarter of a century of friendship, there were things that had not yet been said and that this album has served them well. Above all, because, like in all friendships, there are ups and downs and this album is “a tribute” to having overcome them: “There is a time slot of the day when you have to do magic on stage, another in the morning when you have to be businessmen, another in the afternoon when you have to get drunk together and another in which you have to make decisions that affect the crew (the team of workers that accompanies them) and this, over time, ends up causing scratches,” he explained.
“It’s very nice, when you face the creation of an album, to say what people surround you, what army we have”
Described as “totemic” by Ricky Falkner, producer, the album has 11 songs in which some have stepped out of their usual roles and, in addition, they have had another drummer and guitarist to record it. “We are a band that always puts the song above everything, and that means that the song is above the musicians, those people who participate in the creation,” said Roig, who did not hide when he recognized that Love of Lesbian is not a work produced exclusively by four: “It is very nice, when you face the creation of an album, to say what people surround you, what an army we have, not only on a vocal level but also musically.”
When many people intervene in the process, there are always some who remain more in the shadows than others. Roig, who one day will write a book titled Chronicle of an ignored guitaristrecounted his most dangerous anecdote during the recording of the album, the day the lighting technician’s dog bit him. When the lawyer (the first person they called before the ambulance) asked who the dog had bitten, the woman said “The guitarist” and he answered “Julián?”, to which she replied: “No, to the other.” What could have been an attack on the ego, the drummer told with a laugh, saving the best part of the anecdote for last: “Then the lawyer said: What else?”
After the anecdotes, Piñero asked them about the tour, which they will begin in Mexico, and about their own salvation army. For Julián they are “the most essential things, those that have always been there” and, for everyone, music. “We are from a town where an ETA member had his wallet stolen. In the 80s, San Vicente went through a very complicated time and those of us who found a rehearsal space created a micro world,” he said. “Music can understand you more than a friend,” Balmes agreed.
We won’t be seen in Spain for a while and there won’t be a ‘Love of Lesbian’ album until almost the 1930s.
Finally, they talked about the future of the band and a possible break, which they refused. “We have no intention of stopping, there is an abuse of that,” said Saldarriaga, referring to the decision that other groups have made. “There are ways to open the windows in your house and let everything air out and start from scratch,” he continued.
Therefore, Salvation Army closes a stage for the group. A thoughtful decision that will lead each of them to do other things. Balmes is preparing an album in Catalan and Saldarriaga is daring to make her first songs. Without losing sight of the concerts, there will be a change in dynamics, since they are aware that the work they have is burning and, rather than announcing a break, they prefer to “digest” so that it becomes “interesting and fun” again and, to For that to happen, they assure that they have to get out of the “record-tour-record-tour” cycle, although without stopping working on the project. “We won’t be seen in Spain for a while and there won’t be a Love of Lesbian album until almost the 1930s,” Balmes predicted. In 2029 the band will turn 30 years old and they let it slip that that will be when the news returns. Until that moment, which is still a long time away, fans have a new album and a tour to enjoy.
As in every EL PAÍS+ meeting, the band said goodbye by playing a song. On this occasion it was The brotherhoodthe song of the album that talks about “the positive part of friendship.” The lyrics tell how the band stayed together in times of pandemic where, after the concerts, they went into a hotel room to spend the night together and have fun. The song says: “Room 105 and, as always, at three we make crazy plans and almost everything has to be done.”