From time to time I sit down and listen to new music (that's new as in 'new' not old and haven't heard it before), and in this case it's an album called 'Lay your burden down' by The Last Battle. The band are a 5-piece outfit based in Edinburgh, and consists of Scott Longmuir - Vocals/Guitar, Caroline Overy - Vocals/Guitar, Jon Bews - Violin, Liam O'Hare - Drums and Percussion, and Craig Kenny - Bass/Backing Vocals. This new album has been given decent reviews recently, and follows their 'Heart of the Land' album of 2010. The band describe their sound as 'doom folk pop', which is great because adding the word doom suddenly makes it that much cooler to listen to...
The album consists of 9 songs, mainly of the 3-and-a-half minute variety with a couple of slightly longer ones and a sweeping epic which covers an almost prog-like 7 minutes and 34 seconds.
My first impressions were that it sounds good, what I mean is it has good production throughout, apart from 'Wherever Our Feet Take Us' which sounds like it may have been recorded previously and slotted into the lineup. I'm sure the band will deny or confirm this accusation!
The opening track 'None of that' begins with Liam giving us a great impression of 'Be my Baby' on drums (nothing wrong with that) before the introduction of a gentle melody and the Edinburgh lilt of Scott which is then enhanced with Caroline's harmony vocal. The decision to sing in your local patois is traditionally a difficult one, but one which has become increasingly easy these past few years, dare I say it due to The Proclaimers? I personally like it, and I feel it gives the songs the authenticity they might lack if an American twang had been employed instead.
'You & Me' has a nice quirky indie vibe to it and reminded me somewhat of Vampire Weekend. It possesses what the majority of songs on the album possess; layers which lift and drop in all the right places to give the arrangements a professional feel.
'Breathe Bones' changes the feel a little having a female lead vocal from Caroline. Again the dynamics are spot on with a nice 6/4 feel throughout which gives it a light feel with sweeping drums/percussion from Liam.
The Crunching has a sense of urgency about it with a great bass-driven feel to it and some favorable violin riffs from Jon. I'm also a fan of the 'radio' vocal sound at the beginning. The only sore point for me was the instrumental breakdown two minutes in which loses the songs impetus and feels a little clunky.
Next up is 'Perfecting the art of saying nothing' which has a lovely rolling tempo, and perfectly displays the bands confidence in what they do; the vocal is unhurried and beautifully arranged. Again the violin adds to the implicit sadness of the lyrics which convey a situation no-one wants to be in.
'Cocoons' follows, and again features the vocal talents of Caroline angelically floating over the top of an equally angelic soundtrack. Some tasteful piano helps the light feel of this track, although it is somewhat marred by the (understandable) fret sliding noises which are intrusive at times. It would have been nice for these to have been lessened or muted somehow.
Next is the aforementioned 'Wherever our feet take us', which has lost some production value along the way, but that's not to say it isn't a good song! Far from it; the staccato intro works well as do the harmony vocals. It may be testament to the songs quality that I was whistling it for some time after I'd listened to it.
The longest track on the album, 'Spreading Wings' is for me, also the best. With it's wonderfully ebbing intro which actually gives the impression of flying or gliding through the clouds, and first class production, it isn't afraid to wait for the vocal which eventually comes in near the two minute mark. Again the space allowed between vocal parts is a testimony to the confidence in the song, and it makes the vocal part of the song and not as so often is the case the overbearing big brother of it. The instrumental section swells magnificently before dropping out to allow the vocal back in, then both come together for the climactic outro. I have a feeling this will be a live favourite. Wonderful stuff.
Lastly we have 'Torness', a simple acoustic arrangement which along with the lyrics gives the song a personal tale feel, and sounds even better with headphones! This might be described as a song of two halves, as around the three minute mark it changes tact and a chant takes over, repeating the lines "So where's the justice, how can it be fair, that he's gone but Torness powers on". It then simplifies as the music fades, and what can only be described as a power station nuclear pulse takes over, a detail which I really liked. It's things like that which show the band have thought about things to the nth degree, and in the end it makes all the difference.
So this is a record of substance, style and confidence, and absolutely worth a listen, even if you think 'doom folk pop' might not be your thing. The bands website can be found here : http://thelastbattlemusic.bandcamp.com/ and you will also find merchandise and social media links there.
Rating - 3.5/5
The album consists of 9 songs, mainly of the 3-and-a-half minute variety with a couple of slightly longer ones and a sweeping epic which covers an almost prog-like 7 minutes and 34 seconds.
My first impressions were that it sounds good, what I mean is it has good production throughout, apart from 'Wherever Our Feet Take Us' which sounds like it may have been recorded previously and slotted into the lineup. I'm sure the band will deny or confirm this accusation!
The opening track 'None of that' begins with Liam giving us a great impression of 'Be my Baby' on drums (nothing wrong with that) before the introduction of a gentle melody and the Edinburgh lilt of Scott which is then enhanced with Caroline's harmony vocal. The decision to sing in your local patois is traditionally a difficult one, but one which has become increasingly easy these past few years, dare I say it due to The Proclaimers? I personally like it, and I feel it gives the songs the authenticity they might lack if an American twang had been employed instead.
'You & Me' has a nice quirky indie vibe to it and reminded me somewhat of Vampire Weekend. It possesses what the majority of songs on the album possess; layers which lift and drop in all the right places to give the arrangements a professional feel.
'Breathe Bones' changes the feel a little having a female lead vocal from Caroline. Again the dynamics are spot on with a nice 6/4 feel throughout which gives it a light feel with sweeping drums/percussion from Liam.
The Crunching has a sense of urgency about it with a great bass-driven feel to it and some favorable violin riffs from Jon. I'm also a fan of the 'radio' vocal sound at the beginning. The only sore point for me was the instrumental breakdown two minutes in which loses the songs impetus and feels a little clunky.
Next up is 'Perfecting the art of saying nothing' which has a lovely rolling tempo, and perfectly displays the bands confidence in what they do; the vocal is unhurried and beautifully arranged. Again the violin adds to the implicit sadness of the lyrics which convey a situation no-one wants to be in.
'Cocoons' follows, and again features the vocal talents of Caroline angelically floating over the top of an equally angelic soundtrack. Some tasteful piano helps the light feel of this track, although it is somewhat marred by the (understandable) fret sliding noises which are intrusive at times. It would have been nice for these to have been lessened or muted somehow.
Next is the aforementioned 'Wherever our feet take us', which has lost some production value along the way, but that's not to say it isn't a good song! Far from it; the staccato intro works well as do the harmony vocals. It may be testament to the songs quality that I was whistling it for some time after I'd listened to it.
The longest track on the album, 'Spreading Wings' is for me, also the best. With it's wonderfully ebbing intro which actually gives the impression of flying or gliding through the clouds, and first class production, it isn't afraid to wait for the vocal which eventually comes in near the two minute mark. Again the space allowed between vocal parts is a testimony to the confidence in the song, and it makes the vocal part of the song and not as so often is the case the overbearing big brother of it. The instrumental section swells magnificently before dropping out to allow the vocal back in, then both come together for the climactic outro. I have a feeling this will be a live favourite. Wonderful stuff.
Lastly we have 'Torness', a simple acoustic arrangement which along with the lyrics gives the song a personal tale feel, and sounds even better with headphones! This might be described as a song of two halves, as around the three minute mark it changes tact and a chant takes over, repeating the lines "So where's the justice, how can it be fair, that he's gone but Torness powers on". It then simplifies as the music fades, and what can only be described as a power station nuclear pulse takes over, a detail which I really liked. It's things like that which show the band have thought about things to the nth degree, and in the end it makes all the difference.
So this is a record of substance, style and confidence, and absolutely worth a listen, even if you think 'doom folk pop' might not be your thing. The bands website can be found here : http://thelastbattlemusic.bandcamp.com/ and you will also find merchandise and social media links there.
Rating - 3.5/5