Tuff Love are not tough to love – you hear their music and it just makes you want to get involved by bouncing across the room along with the other Tuff Lovers. Having met them briefly after an awesome gig at The Prince Albert early in 2015, they are also bloody lovely people. Residing in Glasgow, Tuff Love are lo-fi sun kissed guitar pop duo Julie Esenstein (guitar, vocals) and Suse Bear (bass, vocals), enlisting the help of drummer Iain Stewart when on the road. Resort brings together three already released vinyl only EPs, including the sold out and much sought after Junk and Dross EP (currently being sold on Discogs for £30 and £50). All of which were recorded, produced and engineered in Suse’s flat, and maps the band’s progression in sound and confidence by starting with their first release in May 2014 to their most recent Dregs EP that was released in November 2015.

The album starts with the brilliant debut EP Junk. To someone who has never listened to Tuff Love, ‘Sweet Discontent’ perfectly sums them up – open and emotional lyrics matched with beautifully laid-back melodic aggression. You are shown the simple yet effective approach to the bands songwriting, with ‘Flamingo’s breezy vocal harmonies and frenzied guitar poppieness which is followed by the more mellowed and woozy grunge in ‘Copper’. As debut EPs go, Junk is certainly scintillating.

The Dross EP is without a doubt the band stepping up and raising their game. We are given five fantastic scuzzy indie-pop songs that straddle the shoegaze-grunge fence. Opener ‘Slammer’ tentatively crawls off the mark with a relaxed groove, but builds in intensity to its chorus (“I’ve got rage”) almost in a half rush that picks you up along with it. ‘That’s Right’ then explodes with catchy punk pop guitars, producing one of the shining numbers on the album. The songs innocence and immediacy along with Tuff Love’s trademark interweaving vocals well and truly shows the bands intent. The tracks that follow (‘Sebastian’, ‘Doberman’, ‘Cum’) all demonstrate a move forward in recording – still holding onto its unassuming lo-fi brilliance but gaining clarity and sophistication in its production.

The relatively recent 10” vinyl release, Dregs EP, is an irresistible listen. An exuberant confidence fills each song and it’s pretty mesmerising. Tuff Love’s ear for a catchy chorus and melody continue, bringing together a nostalgic soundtrack for a lost summer with juxtaposing dreamy rhythm and melancholy lyrics. ‘Crocodile’, ‘Threads’ and ‘Amphibian’ are some of the bands best songs to date (not to take anything away from the others), while the final song on the album, ‘Carbon’, shows the bands ambitious side by being more of a beautifully lulled ballad that once again highlights Julie and Suse’s dazzling vocal harmonies.

Their sound is addictive and infectious – the more you hear it, the more you will like it. Yes, you can hear influences all over the place (Pavement, The Breeders, Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age, Brit pop, … etc) but Tuff Love have developed their own signature sound that has become so instantly recognizable. As for their debut album – Resort is more of a Best Of compilation of the past couple of years, merely missing the fantastic Record Store Day single ‘Groucho’ (only available on Discogs for £50) from their discography. Perhaps it will be on their next album.

Iain Lauder

Website: lostmap.com/tuff-love
Facebook: facebook.com/ReallyTuffLove
Twitter: twitter.com/reallytufflove