Rocker (feedbot)
Platinum Member
If you have a big family you may have seen this play out. It’s Christmas. A boy who we’ll call Harry opens a huge present. Inside is a marvellous gift covered in bells and whistles that must have cost a fortune. But Harry isn’t happy. He bursts into tears and stomps around making it very clear; this isn’t what he wanted and everyone thinks how spoiled he is. The new EP from Love Is Noise is called ‘The Space Between Happiness and Heartache’ and it makes you feel like Harry.
Last year’s debut album, ‘To Live In A Different Way’, sounded like My Bloody Valentine via Loathe. It combined a restrained heaviness with shoegaze, like a dream. You weren’t sure where one wall ended and another began. It led you along a corridor, the boundaries were blurred and they faded into each other, and yet there is a destination, a pathway. By contrast, this just sounds like Loathe. It’s not a bad thing. However, it means they have traded one sound for another and you might not be impressed.
Open the wrapper and inside the EP are three songs and a short interlude. They share a sound that is too rich to describe as ‘modern metal’ but fits within that bracket. The songs ‘Smile’ and ‘The Rain that Follows Me’ feature thick, heavy guitars that thump along, propelling them forwards. They’re decorated with pick-slides, making them feel naughty like the heaviest Architects tracks on ‘Holy Hell‘. However, both feature layered, harmonious vocals that at least attempt to create the strange, dreamlike quality that made their debut so alluring. Each layer interacts with the other so that Alex Ioannou’s voice is both dominant and filling the spaces in an intoxicating blend. He also finds interesting ways to keep his lyrics in step with the music by over-emphasising each syllable. So, for example, he sings the word ‘me’ as ‘may-ay-ay’ giving it a distinctive sound. Both songs are strongly crafted pieces that make the EP worth checking out.
All three band members, Cameron Humphrey, Sam Clark and Ioannou, concocted and produced the EP together, giving it a clear sense of direction and purpose. It’s also a way to show off this new sound. They refer to it as a “concept EP,” exploring the complex way they hide darkness. Ironically this is the same theme as their debut album, just presented in a more straightforward way.
The accurately titled ‘Fury’ is an entirely different beast. Featuring massive, thudding, bassy guitars, it sounds angry and dirty. Ioannou’s crusty yells get swept away amongst the sonic battering, meaning it has no interest in the smudged beauty of dreams, unless they border on the nightmarish.
Love Is Noise are exploring a new pathway. ‘The Space Between Happiness And Heartache’ sounds too sure of itself to be a creative experiment. Like Harry, you can be disappointed what the EP isn’t, or embrace what it is; a rich, layered exhibition.
IAN KENWORTHY
Last year’s debut album, ‘To Live In A Different Way’, sounded like My Bloody Valentine via Loathe. It combined a restrained heaviness with shoegaze, like a dream. You weren’t sure where one wall ended and another began. It led you along a corridor, the boundaries were blurred and they faded into each other, and yet there is a destination, a pathway. By contrast, this just sounds like Loathe. It’s not a bad thing. However, it means they have traded one sound for another and you might not be impressed.
Open the wrapper and inside the EP are three songs and a short interlude. They share a sound that is too rich to describe as ‘modern metal’ but fits within that bracket. The songs ‘Smile’ and ‘The Rain that Follows Me’ feature thick, heavy guitars that thump along, propelling them forwards. They’re decorated with pick-slides, making them feel naughty like the heaviest Architects tracks on ‘Holy Hell‘. However, both feature layered, harmonious vocals that at least attempt to create the strange, dreamlike quality that made their debut so alluring. Each layer interacts with the other so that Alex Ioannou’s voice is both dominant and filling the spaces in an intoxicating blend. He also finds interesting ways to keep his lyrics in step with the music by over-emphasising each syllable. So, for example, he sings the word ‘me’ as ‘may-ay-ay’ giving it a distinctive sound. Both songs are strongly crafted pieces that make the EP worth checking out.
All three band members, Cameron Humphrey, Sam Clark and Ioannou, concocted and produced the EP together, giving it a clear sense of direction and purpose. It’s also a way to show off this new sound. They refer to it as a “concept EP,” exploring the complex way they hide darkness. Ironically this is the same theme as their debut album, just presented in a more straightforward way.
The accurately titled ‘Fury’ is an entirely different beast. Featuring massive, thudding, bassy guitars, it sounds angry and dirty. Ioannou’s crusty yells get swept away amongst the sonic battering, meaning it has no interest in the smudged beauty of dreams, unless they border on the nightmarish.
Love Is Noise are exploring a new pathway. ‘The Space Between Happiness And Heartache’ sounds too sure of itself to be a creative experiment. Like Harry, you can be disappointed what the EP isn’t, or embrace what it is; a rich, layered exhibition.
IAN KENWORTHY