World Record
A Wolf At Your Door
When I look back at how I got into rock music, I still fondly remember acts like Hundred Reasons and Hell Is For Heroes, just a couple of the names that made up many a mixtape back in the day. They were rock bands in their own right, mixed with post-hardcore sensibilities that propelled them into the mainstream conscious, before lack of major label belief saw the rug pulled well and truly beneath their feet. And indeed, my own musical tastes were progressing and while their albums still sit proudly in my record collection, they don’t get the attention they ought to get any more, simply cos I moved into heavier and more diverse waters as I got a little older. So I was caught off guard really when I first heard Lower Than Atlantis - they really do take me back to that time with some amount of reminiscence.
Lower Than Atlantis do possess their own sound – they’re not simply knocking off records from nearly a decade ago – but they are dealing in the same post-hardcore awareness that defined their peers, although on ‘World Record’, they have moved away slightly from the hardcore stylings displayed on last year’s debut album, the well-received ‘Far Q’.
Within are several tales of personal issues, such as tour experiences, on ‘(Motor) Way of Life’, the snappily-titled ‘Marilyn’s Mansion’; smoking addiction (‘Up In Smoke); and yes, relationships (‘Deadliest Catch’). But there is a real honesty within frontman Ian Duce’s lyrics, a refreshing change from the majority of heart-on-sleeve types who tend to sing about these sorts of issues without any real conviction.
There’s not a great deal of variation in the songs as the album motors through, only slowing down briefly the ballad ‘Another Sad Song’, which doesn’t really do anything for me. But the riffs are bouncy and the choruses in particular are really catchy. LTA are going for anthemic here – whether these songs will get heard in bigger venues remains to be seen. But they at least deserve that much. ‘World Record’ is an excellent album and worth seeking out.
Peter Clegg
No comments:
Post a Comment