The Love Language: Stu McLamb’s take on pop

• Merge Records

The Love Language, Howlies and the Soft Company play The Earl, Fri., Sept. 3. $10. 9 p.m. 488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404-522-3950.

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“Brittany’s Back” mp3

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Bedroom projects and quarter-life crises (especially of the breakup and self-destructive variety) stand as two of the most overplayed themes in indie-rock. These type of musical acts often appear to be a dime a dozen, and The Love Language seem to fall into this trap at first glance. But give their 2010 release Libraries a spin, and most doubts about this Raleigh five-piece quickly succumb to their lush and catchy style of pop.

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While songwriter Stu McLamb may have initially created The Love Language his own personal heartbreak, doubt and despair, it has since transformed into one of one the more alluring indie-pop acts in recent memory. Before making the trip down from Raleigh to perform at The Earl this Friday (Sept. 3), McLamb spoke about Libraries, Of Montreal’s influence and playing with Atlanta rockers Howlies.

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Max Blau: In the past you’ve said that the Love Language was never intended to be a band. Why did you think that?

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Stu McLamb: I guess it was more along the lines of how it started with the first couple of songs that happened. I didn’t look past it much more than a MySpace page. I know you heard the story about the breakup, I’ve told that a million times. Basically, there were a couple of songs that I wanted the girl to hear and maybe a couple of other people; it was just kind of a small-scale project, just a couple of songs. I was so happy with them that I just got onto a roll creatively and kept the project. It grew to a point that I obviously wanted to share it with more people.