LAZENLOW "PRETTY DARK" PREMIERE
Lazenlow’s new LP “Pretty Dark” shows us a more evolved Lazenlow than their previous EP’s ‘Rich Kid$’ and ‘w/a/v/e/s’, released almost a year ago which. Lazenlow defined their style with “w/a/v/e/s”, but on “Pretty Dark” they allow themselves some tweaks on every song. Lazenlow is pretty much different to anything I’ve been listening to and I love it, because it doesn’t matter whether you like to listen to Rock, Pop, Trap or 80’s music, “Pretty Dark” is a mixture of everything. There is a song for everyone to enjoy, it’s like they put Calvin Harris, Amy Lee, and Portishead in a blender, and the result is exquisite. All of this courtesy of the powerful vocals from Gillian Needham and the outstanding musical production of Mike Ryerse. “Pretty Dark” is composed of eleven tracks, starting with a homonym intro that’s placed there to shake the ground beneath us and wake us up, and telling us to prepare for what’s coming.
My favorite songs start with track number six “Before Dawn.” This track is powerful, full of energy with strategic and hypnotic synths, and Gillian’s voice traps us and makes us dance and yell at the same time. “Before Dawn” has a great potential to become an anthem, and don’t we all love anthems that empower us and makes us feel a part of something? Plus: this could easily be the soundtrack to any 90’s action film.
Let’s go back to track number three, “Restless” is a super pop song. Gillian’s voice fills the room with a dash of melancholia, as the music switches from danceable to sad and blue, again, all due to the great work with the synths that show us when is the time to dance and when the is time to ponder.
Track nine, “Sittin Waiting” is, in my opinion, the sensual song of the album. Accompanied by a drab guitar, raindrops and drum arrangements that sets the pace. This song reminds me of Portishead’s “Glory Box,” sensual, yet with a statement that gets stuck in your head by the third time you listen to it, and you will, because it is addictive.
Last, but not least, is track eight “Holy Ghost,” I believe is the essence of the band, and a referent to their style. This track is the reason why I said Lazenlow is an awesome mix of the best there is in music business. This track has a pop base, melancholic lyrics and vocals, electronic beats and an 80’s guitar rhythm that reminds me of Russian former duo t.A.T.u’s earlier albums that gives you the blues but also makes you dance.
I highly recommend Lazenlow’s “Pretty Dark” to anybody who is a fan of alternative and pop-rock, you’re about to be surprised, but also taken down to memory lane.
Lazenlow:
Gillian Needham (Vocalist, Songwriter)
Mike Ryerse aka Ghost Channels (Producer, Guitarist, Songwriter)
Mo McNichols aka Mo Bluntz (Drummer)
(Melodic Noise) How would you describe your genre?
(Lazenlow) We go with Dream Pop these days
(MN) How is your day going?
(L) Quarantine for us, much like everyone, has been a bit of a bitch.
(MN) What has the band been up to since the last EP?
(L) Big news is we added Mo to our live show, which has been really great. We've been recording lots of stuff, working on our second album as well as a collab EP which we cant announce yet. Also, hopefully honing our skills in general as a group.
(MN) How has your sound changed since w/a/v/e/s?
(L) w/a/v/e/s felt like the first project where we had really defined our 'sound' so to speak. And i feel like the greater time and energy put into the full length allowed us to improve and sharpen our sound even further. We always try to expand what styles we can explore while maintaining what makes us, us.
(MN) What inspired the new album?
(L) We think that each song has their own inspiration for this project. We were inspired by death, politics, love and just telling a good story. We like to think that each song has its own little world that can be held together by the way we write and perform.
(MN) Does the new album tackle any new themes?
(L) well politics hangs over a few of the songs as it is hard to get away from, we try to not go back to the same wells for inspiration and bringing in new perspectives and ideas helps keep everything moving along.
(MN) How was your creative process different compared to previous albums?
(L) We would say the biggest difference would be that we had hung on to some of these songs for almost a year before we had a final product. That extra time allows us to refresh our ears and come up with new ideas. We also have played a lot of these songs live for a while which also helps the writing process in different ways than we had been used to.
(MN) There seems to be a very strong 90s influence in your music, is it intentional and what do you love about 90s music?
(L) We think that the 90s was definitely the peak for the style of music that we tend to write, we do pull from a lot of different influences but a lot of the bigger ones happen to have gotten started in the 90s. We think that the angst of 90s music echos what a lot of people are feeling today. We also enjoyed that it was a great time for rock bands really blending things with electronics in very exciting ways.
(MN) How did you first get interested in music?
(L) Gillian has been singing since she was a child, and was a music blogger in college and never wanted to be in the spotlight. When she met Mike she developed a passion for performing and writing music.
Mike played Trombone but that didnt really stick, he picked up guitar and music production in his teens after getting very excited about the music he was starting to find at that age.
Mo had a brother who was an awesome guitarist and his sister could pick up any instrument and be good at it, but then it turned into a never ending quest for meaning in a meaningless world. Trying to form sounds for things that words cannot describe.
(MN) What are some local artists you're really into right now?
(L) The Trappistines, Elle PF, Nur-D, RONiiA, Lunch Duchess, Brandon Pulphus, YYY, DPLV, Mark Mallman, SYM1, Exotic Matter, Student 1
(MN) Is there anyone you'd like to thank or shout out?
(L) Shout out to Shock & Audio for the bang up mastering job
Shout out to Josh Porter and Steve Klinger for listening to our demos and helping with lots of notes.
Shout out all of our folks for being so supportive
Shout out to The Current, Radio K, GO963 and 93x for the support on the album
Shout out to Melodic Noise for being an early supporter of our stuff.
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Review by: Maureen Cruz, Writer @MaureenEtoile
Interview and edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner @PlaylistTC
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