Did Florence Welch die recently? Because it sounds like her voice has possessed Hannah Reid, vocalist of this London based (who would have guessed) slightly experimental indie-pop trio. They first started to spark interest in February of 2013 with their debut EP ‘Metal and Dust’, followed not long after in June by their biggest single ‘Wasting My Young Years’. Through this, and some other online releases, they have quickly garnered a mass of YouTube views, and quite a loyal following; and one can see why, because they definitely have the ingredients.
Although Reid’s vocal is exceptionally evocative of Welch, she doesn’t occasionally stray into a grating shout the same way in which Welch does. Instead it is a much more controlled vocal, which delivers all the raw power of a Welch note, but is altogether more listenable. She speaks in interviews about how people in her life influence her lyrics. She must keep terrible company, as her deeply personal poetics are painfully wailed on every track, leaving a big impression.
Multi-instrumentalist Dot Major seems to be the glue of the band, tying everything together with subdued keyboard hums and sparsely placed percussion. The ethereal electronic, soundscapes that Major conjures are nice, however you start to get the feeling you’re listening to similar recycled sounds on every single track. After not long, the pleasant sounds become dull, and you wish that Major would change it up a little to revitalise the album.
Guitarist Dan Rothman’s contributions to the album are barely worth talking about. He plucks away nice and delicately, but is frequently over-shadowed by Major’s muddy drones. Muddy because it occasionally feels like you should be getting more melody out of it, but the production isn’t allowing you to enjoy it. With some more intricacy there would be are more to listen into. Tracks like ‘Hey Now’ and ‘Interlude’ have some beautiful keyboard melodies; the same treatment, with extra electronic elements, needs to be given to every song.
The cover of French House artist Kavinsky’s stunning synthpop throwback ‘Nightcall’ is one of the best efforts on the album. When I first looked at the tracklist I didn’t expect it to be a cover, especially not a respectful and wonderfully executed one. Major pulls off an exquisite, almost chilling, rendition of the main melody, before bringing in a huge drum beat towards the end to ignite an amazing lift. On the penultimate track ‘Flickers’ drums save the day once again with an almost tribal African Djembe beat running from the beginning of the track; which really perks your interest after listening to an album full of repetitive wailing and droning. When London Grammar introduce interesting beats are where their grand sound fleetingly begins to take shape, a sound which could be the shape of a soaring electronic pop juggernaut.
Some nice sounds to be found on the album, however relentlessly repetitive they may be. There is a better band in amongst this, they just need to grow, develop their sound, and correct their mistakes like an English teacher would correct gra…
Leo Lumley
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