“Oh my God, it’s fucking hard to change,” rasps vocalist and guitarist Cameron LeViere to begin Replacement Therapy, Lawn Care’s debut LP.
This declaration sets the tone for 30 minutes of music about wrestling with yourself in an attempt to become a better, healthier human being, even when times seem bleak. These difficult themes marry with bouncy, horn-accented indie rock that makes you want to dance away the pain with your friends.
The album title comes from the therapeutic practice of replacement therapy, often used to treat recovering addicts. LeViere is a counselor himself, which was a point of inspiration for the concept.
“It’s maintenance therapy,” explains LeViere. “A lot of this album is about trying to change yourself for the better. But if you’re going to get rid of things and behaviors, you also need to take new things on, because it’s so hard to imagine the absence of something.”
Songwriting serves its own therapeutic purpose for LeViere. “I don’t think I really started writing songs until it became a cathartic thing,” he says.
The album was recorded about a year ago, but LeViere has been crafting and performing these songs for the last five years.
“I am very slow songwriter,” laughs LeViere. “I was still finishing up lyrics for some of these songs when we were in the studio.”
The lyrics join with carefully composed instrumentation and dynamic shifts that keep you on your toes, hanging on movements and lines. You feel like you too are on a journey of recovery with Lawn Care.
One of the powerful pieces of the Lawn Care set-up is the artful incorporation of horns, namely a trumpet and saxophone. The horns and the gang vocals, provided by friends who include Tatiana (The Childlike Empress), Laura Lee (Rue) and Derek (The Homeless Gospel Choir), audibly boost the album’s joyous expressions.
“I’m blown away by the people we get to work with,” says LeViere. “I’m proud of the songs that I wrote, but this album is amazing because of all our talented friends who put so much work into it.”
