By Danica Li
For the past decade and a half, Matthew J. Tow has had a slew of musical projects bubbling on the back burner. Aussie rock outfit Drop City, formed by Tow in 1993, is probably the band for which Tow is most widely known for fronting. A series of solo forays followed. Under the moniker Colorsound, Tow produced a half dozen albums over a decade before the psychedelic rockers of the Brian Jonestown Massacre co-opted Tow for the better part of a three-month tour.
When Tow formed the Lovetones in 2002, and released its debut, Be What You Want (Bomp!), he was immediately – and perhaps hyperbolically – hailed an apostle of David Bowie, Ray Davies, and Lennon and McCartney by bigwig media outlets like Rolling Stone. Originally described as a side project, but now presumed to be Tow’s primary occupation, the Lovetones return in style with Dimensions, a medley of hypnotic pscyh rock, byzantine instrumental detours, and ’60s-era balladry.