Sam & Louise Sullivan – “Down on Love” and “Love & Devotion”

Historic New Jersey Recordings

When you love someone, it can truly feel senseless. Love has the power to make anything effortless and everything feel possible. Sure, it comes baked-in with heart-fluttering sparks and revelatory highs, but that’s just the beginning. To me, real love is found in that middle stretch that gives way to a constant ascent. Love has the unique capability to take everyday mundanities, things like going to the grocery store or walking around a random neighborhood, and make them feel thrilling. A simple pleasure amplified a thousand-fold just by the presence of someone else. 

Love is also the primary point of focus for Sam and Louise Sullivan, a brother-and-sister folk-rock duo from Portland, Oregon, but currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Back in June, the two released “Down on Love,” offering a perfect little ditty that doubles as their upcoming album’s opening salvo. The track sees the siblings trading verses over a nifty guitar and bass groove that allows plenty of room for their voices to move around. As Sam and Louise articulate the various ways love has let them down and crushed them, you’d be forgiven for tapping your toe along to the beat. 

Earlier this month, they offered a different perspective on adoration with “Love & Devotion,” the title track for their album coming at the end of the week on July 24th. While “Down on Love” acknowledges the inevitable “downs” of a relationship, “Love & Devotion” strikes a middle balance as the two singers articulate how easy love can and should be. In Sam Sullivan’s own words: “It's fashionable these days to say, 'ooh, love is so hard; we have to work on our relationship; we need to find compromise, etc.' No. Wrong. Love should be easy and very fun.”

They put a finer point on this with a sweet guitar solo and trumpet accompaniment that would have fit in anywhere on Women in Music Pt. III. Their whole sound feels indebted to Fleetwood Mac, Richard and Linda Thompson, and (presumably) a ton more 70s easy-listening artists that I’m not as familiar with. One thing I am familiar with, however? Love. 

I love love, and I love the way that Sam and Louise have written contrasting sides to such a big topic with these two singles. The remainder of their album is packed with similarly breezy tracks with lots of nods to the Pacific Northwest and the stickier complexities of human relationships. Still, these two songs offer a hell of a mission statement and introduction.