Juno-nominated Luke Doucet keeps things a little too cutesy on Blood’s Too Rich. Luke has a knack–or possibly a fetish–for pop, but he hasn’t quite mastered brevity. The winners overstay their welcome and quickly become cloying; there simply isn’t an idea on this record that warrants a five-minute song length, let alone seven.
Contrast the standout title track “Blood’s Too Rich” and the cover of The Cure’s “Lovecats.” Both songs are an enjoyable listen, but “Lovecats” smartly cuts itself short, leaving the listener wanting more. Here lays the profound difference between a talented pop songwriter and a talented performer. The performer wants an emotionally exhausted and satisfied audience who leaves awed. The whole purpose of a pop song, however, is addiction. Evilly candy-like, it should never quite satisfy the longing for more. The assets which Luke Doucet, as a talented musician, uses to satisfy a live audience work against him here.
Crippled by unwieldy songs, Blood’s Too Rich is far from habit-forming, and that’s the only sin pop music can’t get away with.