I was at Crushfest last week and bumped into some of the guys from Lost Vessels who proudly told me their second single was coming out yesterday, but I explained to them that could not possibly be the case as I hadn’t been sent it to the review. Strangely enough, the next day an email came through which contained the song, one which I already know as they have played it each time I have seen them live. Since the painful experience of seeing them play the worse gig of their career they have been going from strength to strength, winning the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands which gave them a prize of recording with eminent rock producer Dave Rhodes (they also won a press release from yours truly).
The five-piece of Eileen Jolly (vocals), Cameron Faulkner (guitar, vocals), Kyle Martin (guitar), John Faulding (bass) and Ethan Page (drums) are an honest to goodness emo band heavily influenced by the likes of Paramore, All Time Low, Jimmy Eat World as well as Tori Amos and Smashing Pumpkins. This song is a wonderful example of their emo pop rock style in the way it is literally sprinkled with swear words which are in total contrast with the music underneath, and while this could never be played on radio it has a real hook. It commences with a gently picked electric guitar, and Eileen singing at her sweetest, with only the lyrics taking away from the innocence of what is taking place. The rest of the band come in, but it only after the second verse that everyone allows the edge to come in and everything gets that little bit louder and raucous while never losing the pop mentality. It is the switching between the different sections combined with innocence and coarseness which makes this such a nice belting number. Cam adds an additional element of gravel with his raw addition to the lead vocals, but then it suddenly switches back to sweetness and light again. Lost Vessels are developing rapidly and it is going to be interesting to see where they go from here.
Rating: 8/10
