I Love You (The Neighbourhood album)

Background

The tracks on this album expresses a series of angst-ridden themes based on both the vibe and lyrical content of the songs. Bryan Sammis explained to Coup De Main magazine: "I think that at least in terms of the musical aspect of it, all of us try and get our own emotions out through our instruments, which is not always the easiest thing to do. I think for Jesse Rutherford lyrically, what I really like about him and about us as a band is that a lot of his lyrics aren't necessarily pre-ordained, because he's not trying to force it. A lot of his lyrics are off the top of his head when he first hears the song, because that makes it more natural, it's legitimately what he is thinking about and how he is feeling when he hears that song."

Critical reception

Reception to I Love You. was mixed; aggregating website, Metacritic, reports a weighted average rating of 48, based on 8 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". This Is Fake DIY reviewer Jamie Milton gave the album its best noted rating, 7/10, commenting "[The Neighbourhood] stick to the remarkably fully formed mantra they arrived on the scene chanting. And while they could go darker, grizzlier, or even shinier, ‘I Love You[.]’ achieves what few debuts can, by making one hell of an opening statement." Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian was more critical of the album's lyrical content, assigning 3/5, citing "Rutherford's petulant take on things ... obviously aimed at teenagers, but the album's dreamy melancholy and high-shine production are just as likely to rope in their parents, who may also appreciate the traditional songcraft behind every tune." Kat Rolle of Drowned In Sound provides the album's most unforgiving review, 3/10, stating, "From their British orthography to their monochrome Tumblr-friendly imagery and carefully orchestrated 'mysterious' internet launch, they are to all intensive purposes [sic] a carefully marketed boy band, superficially combining indie and hip-hop influences with a touch of emo grunge thrown in, but always setting up camp under the all-embracing banner of early teen-targeting pop."

Note that the album track list appears to have undertaken dramatic edits prior to being released publicly, as Kat Rolle comments on the "late-stage change up" of "How," which now appears as the album's opening track. Jamie Milton also comments, "The album closes with a track called ‘A Little Death’," though "A Little Death" does not appear anywhere on the album's final release.

Personnel