LUNG - Parasympathy
I'm going to start this review with a fact. I don't like songs where the singer is just mindlessly screaming and you can't understand a thing. I don't get it.
So when I started listening to Parasympathy and the first track hit some heavier vocals I paused in concern, please don't let this be a screamo band. The rest of the song however was brilliant and the vocals were amazing; so I listened again and I realised the difference. The heavier vocals fit perfectly within the song. It's not some out of place chunk; it blends and moulds itself to the song, an organic piece of the puzzle. It just worked. And so, right from the title track of the EP, I was hooked.
The two middle songs, London Bridge and No Restraint are void of aggressive vocals, quietly creeping to their respective places on the EP. The atmospheric depth of London Bridge is carried to eagerly waiting ears on the tides of some brilliant guitar work. No Restraint slips into play next, Liam’s cries of ‘what if we can change the future’ hitting home in the middle of these tracks. I may have lied though, there is one slight scream that has snuck its way onto No Restraint.
The quieter start of Lonely Road is designed to lull you into a false sense of security. There’s nothing like casually listening to it in the car, to find Liam ending the song by screaming ‘die, fucking, die’ at you. It does make for an interesting chunk of road trip. Thankfully he makes up for it by whispering at the start of The Forewarned but that song also descends into some mild angry screaming. However just like in Parasympathy it suits the song and the moment.
The whole album together is a dark, expressive piece of work, the album art perfectly designed to suit the mood being portrayed. Lung have certainly hit the nail on the head with Parasympathy and I for one can’t wait to see a new EP soon.
