Love Rarely: "I don’t feel like we could’ve written better than these songs, and I think that’s the best example of us as a band.”

Although LOVE RARELY have just only released their first record, the artists have gone through a decade-long journey of disbanding and then starting over again. This makes Pain Travels feel even more special, as if it was not enough before. "When we did finish the album, we were just unbelievably happy with it", shares CJ Levitt, a statement that must feel quite surreal to express, especially for the perfectionists that the band are. "It was a shock to the system, it was something that we didn’t even prepare to feel". The singer has walked us through the LOVE RARELY creation process, talked about her favourite moments, and the album’s significance in the past, present, and in anything the future holds.

Pain Travels circles around familial trauma, something that is very common but not talked about enough. "I think our generation has clicked onto it a lot with how much we’ve figured out", - CJ credits having platforms like social media for driving this shift. For one, it is the realisation that our parents had probably had kids at a much too young age, and the self-awareness it takes not to accidentally repeat this pattern. “Obviously I know a lot of people are deciding not to have them. But I want them, and I want to be in a place where I can’t do anything wrong to the kid in the form of upbringing”.

On the flip side, LOVE RARELY also reflects on how much fault and responsibility we might put on other people. Blame came into the world after the singer realised, "I can’t keep using these excuses for the way that I act and treat people, I've got to start looking at myself." Although a lot of Pain Travels is about passing the blame and guilt, CJ acknowledges you need to try to find a happy medium in the end, "it’s one of the things that are so simple, but sometimes you just miss it”. 

Learning a lot from the writing process, the artists have also managed to get the invaluable sense of closure after pouring their all into a song. Through Families talks about alcohol problems and how deeply this can affect the relationships that are supposed to be your closest. Like a lot of the songs, this ended up being "a letter to those people in a very subtle way". Dormant plays another important part in the record, which CJ dedicated to her grandmother with dementia. Since then, it has become a comfort blanket for her, something she can always put on and have a little cry over. "I’m not one to listen to my own music", - the singer admits, - "so I never thought I would have something that I was involved in creating that would be like that, it’s really strange".

Speaking more broadly of the album and the love their project is getting, CJ cannot hold back her gratitude and thrill. "The singles have just been received so well, people are already saying it’s album of the year". And this is not coincidental, but a well-deserved result of LOVE RARELY’s hard work. So much so that it managed to pierce through their shyness, getting the band to acknowledge their own talent. Through Families and Haunted are CJ’s personal favourites: "I don’t feel like we could’ve written better than these songs, and I think that’s the best example of us as a band".

This could never have come without the steady foundation the band have laid out, which includes the predecessors that led them to find their sound. It is always LA DISPUTE, along with DEFEATER, COUNTERPARTS, and a ray of other bands that follow in the same vein. "I think we just landed in that perfect mix of when math rock and hardcore was at its peak, we were growing up in it". The singer continues: "and luckily we decided to make a new band when it is all coming back".

Talking about inspirations, it is impossible not to mention THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS. Acting more as an older sibling band in this case, they took LOVE RARELY under their wing, and on what was the first ever tour for the Brits. Needless to say, it turned out to be one of the most overwhelming experiences for everyone involved. "Do you know when the crowd’s singing that loudly it almost takes your breath away?" - CJ recollects from the biggest sold-out 600-cap venue of the run in Bristol. With all the lights up, from the side, it felt like a "made it" moment for someone, and the singer admits they were both happy and also slightly envious in a good way. With the dopamine plummeting after it’s ended, it was clear the next milestone would be finally putting on LOVE RARELY’s own tour.

First, the band are doing an exclusive Pain Travels release show in London. With such a bulk of work finally out to the world, the only thing they need to do for now is rest. As their debut record came about quite unexpectedly as an album, CJ is excited to start working on the next project completely from scratch. Of course, for better or for worse, it is always a matter of how their current work performs amongst the audience and whether the artists would be able to expand on it. 

One of the biggest dreams for LOVE RARELY is not so much commercial as an artistic one. It is to get to a point where people could look at them as one of the legacy bands. "I want to do with a work and create a world where we’re deserving of that" - states CJ. Pain Travels, in all its true beauty, glory, and uniqueness, is the first step forward, and certainly in the right direction. "I know I’d still have to work alongside it though, cause there’s no money in this at all. So, my tattoo shop will probably always exist no matter what, I’ll just take it on the road".

Words: Mariia Bulkina

Photos: Alex Dixon

With thanks to: Good As Gold Group and Love Rarely