Lonely the Brave are patient men. This first album release should have been out months ago, but due to the unmissable deal of signing with Sony, and some strategic stalling for maximum exposure the album was moved from May to September.
Finally out though, the world gets its reward. A record full of maturity beyond its years. Make no mistake, as first steps go, it’s a bonafide giant one. The album itself is an absolute triumph which ebbs and flows beautifully. Full of hooks, swirling guitars, towering melodies and emotive lyrics, most of these tracks I would go as far as to describe them as life-affirming. They are that good.
Latest single ‘Backroads‘, shines with a giant, towering hook while singer David Jakes bellows “So the sinners stopped and the villains turned/And I’ll be the sky and you be the bird/Let’s meet the mountains and see what they heard/And I’ll be the sky and you be the bird.” ‘Islands’ and ‘Black Saucers’ are real straight ahead uptempo rockers that pick up the pace while the likes of ‘Dinosaurs‘ and ‘Deserter‘ provide the slower, more reflective moments.
The other previously available tracks provide more highlights, ‘Trick of the Light‘ (which is also available with an alternative ending) and the incredible ‘Victory Line‘ which may well be one of the most emotional songs (in a good way) that I’ve heard in ages.
This is one of their strong-points, the clean vocals with a slight raw, vulnerability at times and the excellent lyrics which I’m sure will become the focus of many a tumblr post or tattoo in the future. There’s a brutal honesty in the way that Jake exorcises his demons in lines like “am i doomed forever? Will this ending never come, can someone give me something to call it off?” (Trick of the Light) and “I’ve been drinking with these demons, all these creatures with the claws…We’ll bring them down.” (Black Saucers)
‘The Blue and the Green‘ is my favourite track on the album currently with its “I wanna know what it’s like so i can feel it inside” refrain, the kind that makes your hair stand up on end. But it’s the sort of record where you have a new favourite with every new spin.
If there’s anything wrong with the album, it’s that they sometimes play safe with the formula that they’ve created. It works really well, no doubt about that, it’s just that perhaps on a couple of the tracks where it starts to wear a little thin, or it’s not done to the same standard they could have done with a plan B, or another straight up rocker like “Black Saucers.” This is just a tiny black mark on an otherwise awe-inspiring debut.
Keep a look out for these guys in the future, with the album already nestling in the upper echelon of the album charts, they may well just follow in the footsteps of fellow Brits Biffy Clyro, You Me At Six and Muse into headlining stadiums and festivals a few albums down the line. And at this rate, it will be entirely deserved.
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