| CD REVIEW Lanterns On The Lake |
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Band : Lanterns On The Lake This British Indie Rock sextet (comprising lead singer/ guitarist Hazel Wilde, backing/ occasional lead singer/ guitarist Adam Sykes, guitarist Paul Gregory, violinist Sarah Kemp, bassist Brendan Sykes, and drummer/ piano, synth & Glockenspiel player Oliver Ketteringham) based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne was formed in 2008 by a group of friends who'd all been in bands on the local scene before (Hazel and Paul (who are engaged) were in a band with Oliver; Sarah and Hazel are old schoolmates; Brendan and Adam are brothers and were in another band). They released their self-financed debut EP The Starlight in 2008, and followed that up with sophomore EP Misfortunes And Minor Victories in 2009. Both EPs (recorded and produced by Paul on a borrowed 8-track recorder, and adorned with handmade covers – all due to budgetary reasons, but actions which have increased the strong DIY feel in the band) got raving reviews from the Indie crowd on the Internet, by the way. The band promoted their releases with short series of gigs but, reluctant to have to play bars and pubs as expected from a beginning band in the UK, played at such odd places as a boathouse along the Tyne river, or the infamous Tan Hill Inn in North Yorkshire (highest pub in Britain, where an event is now an annual mini-festival). During 2010 the band played at such prestigious UK festivals as End Of The Road and Glastonbury, and released a single for their track “Lungs Quicken”...the combined events attracting the attention of Bella Union, to which they signed in December 2010. Soon after LOTL provided a track for the label's Christmas 10-inch, along with new label mates Peter Broderick and Phil Selway. In spite of the higher recording budget for their debut full-length, the band has preferred to record again from their homes (except for the loud bits, which were done from a Newcastle shop's basement), because they wanted their debut album to be honest and personal, and special for themselves. A couple of songs [“If I Have Been Unkind” (sung by Adam with Hazel backing him up for a change) and “I Love You, Sleepyhead” off the Starlight EP, and “A Kingdom” off the second EP] were re-recorded to reflect their hurrent live incarnations, but the other 8 songs are all brand new. As mentioned in the band's artist page at the label's website, LOTL's music (and I'm using the words as literally as possible) is a delicate fusing of the most fragile and graceful end of the Folk music spectrum to the most luminous properties of Cinamascopic Rock, and justifies the use of often over-played adjectives such as “celestial”, “swooning”, and “absolutely bloody gorgeous”. If the above speaks to you, I suggest you open your minds and surf over to (www.) lanternsonthelake.com when you're done here, to listen to the abundantly available music (and videos). I'm sure you will be amazed at the dreamlike capacity in the tracks, induced both by the music and soft vocal stylings. Great music! Definitely worthy of being revisited for hours on end, and thus a more than worthy addition to my “Best Albums Of 2011”-lists! 98/100 Tony. |