A Dazzling Dive Into Old Hollywood Glamour, Heartache, and Vulnerability
Review By Halina Wegner for Jace Media Music
You will know Luke Spiller as the electrifying, strut-powered frontman of The Struts — a band synonymous with glam rock swagger and glitter-drenched showmanship. But with his debut solo album Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine (out April 25th via Big Machine), Spiller steps out of the spotlight’s reflection and into something more personal, cinematic, and emotionally exposed than we’ve ever seen from him before.
Crafted with a reverence for the opulence of yester year — think Scott Walker, Serge Gainsbourg, Shirley Bassey, and Jacques Brel — and dressed in velvet orchestration and Bond-worthy drama, this record is Spiller unmasked. It’s theatrical, yes, but beneath the orchestral swells and spy-movie flair lies a raw and introspective artist who has swapped stadium bombast for swooning strings and poetic vulnerability.
The track Devil In Me, is an instant showstopper. A sweeping, string-laden, Bond-theme contender of a song, it sets the stage for everything to come. It’s Spiller in widescreen: dramatic, romantic, world-weary. He croons like a man on the edge of ruin, half-empty glass in hand, staring out at the lights of Los Angeles from a penthouse window. You can practically see the credits roll. If you’re looking for another glitter-drenched rock anthem, you’re not going to find it here. What you will find is something far more daring. Spiller trades thunderous riffs for orchestral arrangements, minimalistic piano, and aching lyricism. There’s a cinematic melancholy that runs through the entire album, and it’s captivating
In If This Isn’t Love, Spiller. His voice, usually brash and commanding on Struts records, is fragile here, wavering at times like a man trying to hold it together under the weight of memories.
Then there’s The Ending Is Always The song that feels timeless, as if it were lifted from a summers day out and full of carchy licks and up beat Spiller manages to merge his modern pop sensibilities with an old-world romanticism that feels uniquely his own.
But perhaps the most fascinating track is Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine”, where the album shifts from introspection to nostalgia. Spiller makes this track stand out even more from a album that is full of fantastic songs record as written like poetry with a even bigger nod to James bond sound. These are songs that feel lived-in, experienced, and emotionally earned.
“She’s Just Like California” is a love letter with sunshine in its chords but shadows in its lyrics. It captures that bittersweet Californian magic — where dreams meet disillusionment, where beauty is both muse and mirage. Spiller’s vocals feel almost too honest, like he’s reading straight from his diary, and the effect is both tender and haunting.
Magic At Midnight In Mel’s Diner is one of the most evocative and cinematic tracks on Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine. With a dusky piano motif and sweeping strings that feel like they’re lifted from a lost noir film, Spiller paints a picture. The imagery is rich. His vocals capture a kind of glamour “Magic At Midnight…” feels like the emotional heartbeat of the album
Don’t Be Afraid To Love Me is a soaring, emotionally raw centerpiece on Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine, where Luke Spiller sheds his theatrical bravado for something deeply intimate. Anchored by a sweeping orchestral arrangement and a melody that aches with vulnerability, the track is a heartfelt
Angel Like You is perhaps the most unabashedly Bond-esque track on Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine — a grand, cinematic tour de force that drips with intrigue, heartbreak, and velvet-gloved danger. Luke Spiller leans into full orchestral drama here, with swelling strings, haunting brass, and a sultry rhythm that could easily underscore a high-stakes seduction scene or a moonlit betrayal in a spy thriller. His vocals are rich and commanding, evoking the likes of Shirley Bassey and David Bowie in their prime, delivering each lyric like a secret waiting to be uncovered. “Angel Like You” is stylish, mysterious, and devastatingly beautiful — a sonic martini of espionage, desire, and emotional gravity.
With Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine, Luke Spiller doesn’t just reinvent himself — he reveals himself. It’s a bold, elegant, emotionally rich collection that feels like both a tribute and a transformation. The influence of Bowie, Gainsbourg, Bassey, and Barry is unmistakable, but Spiller is never doing impersonations. He’s reinterpreting these influences through the lens of his own heartbreak, longing, and artistic hunger.
He’s not just the frontman anymore. He’s the narrator. The tragic hero. The hopeless romantic watching love slip through his fingers.
It’s a record that plays like the soundtrack to the best film never made — and one that just might be the best solo debut of the year.
To the makers of James Bond — look no further than Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine for your next ten theme songs. Every track on this album oozes cinematic elegance, emotional intensity, and suave drama. It’s a ready-made soundtrack that would have even the most discerning Bond fan saying, “Yes — that’s the sound of 007.”
01 Devil In Me 02 If This Isn’t Love 03 The Ending Is Always The Same
04 Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine 05 Magic At Midnight In Mel’s Diner
06 She’s Just Like California 07 I’m With Her (But I’m In Love With You)
08 Don’t Be Afraid To Love Me 09 The Sound of Love 10 Angel Like You
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