The Lovers Key is a band that evolved from inactivity with Christopher Moll’s group the Postmarks. Along with singer Maco Monthervil, the Lovers Key more than successful mine a bygone era. Image those old soul and R&B seven-inches that your parents might have had, and that’s it. Here’s the thing, though: The Lovers Key are just as good as those old records. This is music for not only a “Saturday Night”, to quote one of the song titles, but also for a restless Sunday morning. It’s soothing, it’s relaxing, but it’ll also get you shaking your rump. Wall to wall, Here Today Gone Tomorrow (a reference to the fleeting nature of this band once the Postmarks get going again?) is stacked with gem upon gem, and there’s not one bad track in the bunch. In fact, you’ll probably wish that you had this album as a series of 45 rpm records; that’s just how great this outfit revisit the glory days of the past. The most modern reference I can think of is if the Jam’s The Gift album had generally better songs. That’s what the Lovers Key shoot for in sound.
The album is being released in a deluxe edition, too, and it features two remixes and a French version of “Who’s the One You Love?” As such, it is a tad superfluous, as the Lovers Key don’t benefit much from the modern techno treatment, though it is interesting to hear how “Who’s the One You Love?” translates into la belle langue. (Pretty well, it turns out.) Still, whatever version you pick up, you’re in for a real bon-bon. From bright rave-ups such as “Stay On the Sunny Side of Love” to four hankie weepers such as “Another Night”, this album is a joy and a pleasure. You don’t hear music like this much too often outside of oldies radio, so that makes Here Today Gone Tomorrow such an enjoyable listening experience, bar none. If you dig the music from The Commitments soundtrack, then the Lovers Key is gonna be right up your wheelhouse. This is fantastic stuff, and makes you hope that the Postmarks stay inactive a little while longer. If the Lovers Key is making music as golden as this, they more than deserve to stick around for awhile.