Lower Than Atlantis - Lower Than Atlantis

It would be fair to say it’s been an up and down ride for Mike and LTA up until this point, though. From the embryonic, cast iron rage of their earliest records, the band honed themselves into a vibrant, tuneful unit on their excellent World Record LP where Duce began to show more than a few glimpses of his song writing prowess. Thereafter, things got a bit sticky. A frenzy of interest from music industry suits saw them pushed from pillar to post and, by their own admission, led them to rushing into ‘Changing Tune’, a major label debut which failed to live up to both critical and commercial expectation. It’s a misstep that few get the chance to recover from but free of both label and management, LTA have spent a entire year crafting their new, self-titled, effort. And the results really are astonishing.

The pulsating opener Here We Go gives as clear an indication of the band’s intention as you could hope from from the off. Tsunami waves of riffing and an expertly polished chorus backed up with a not so cryptic lyrical message; “We’re raging on like a locomotive… We’re back on track so get back behind us” sings Duce. Well, quite. Speaking of lyrics, the ‘Dear Diary’ personal lyricism, working class spit and rampant Catholic guilt of the band’s previous incarnations is eschewed here in favour of more broadly thematic approach. It works a treat and songs like ‘Emily’ (which after a little digging appears to actually be about Duce’s dog) bounce along with all the euphoria of Green Album era Weezer. It’s the consistency with which the band are able to dole out exactingly built anthems that is the most impressive thing about this record though. Sure, new single ‘English Kids In America’ is fit for arenas, but cast your ears over ‘Criminal’, ‘Live Slow’, ‘Die Old’ or ‘Ain’t No Friend’ and what you will hear is some of the finest rock song writing of 2014 shot through with no small sense of experimentation and ambition.

Of course, Duce is ably assisted by his three mates, Ben Sansom’s guitar playing is in turns head rattling and deftly weaved, with moments of American Football-esque twinkle mixed in amongst the shit-kicking stomp. It’s bassist Dec Hart’s offering that is the stand out amongst the supporting cast though, the throbbing tones that he conjures from his instrument throughout sticking this record together like superglue on an Airfix plane.

And if this was a plane, it would be a bomber – a B-52 in a world of model spitfires. Not only have Lower Than Atlantis put together one of the most brilliantly conceived releases of the year so far, they have done so in such a way which comprehensively retains your belief in every single note they sing and every middle finger they stick up. And that’s the real joy here: that LTA have made their most commercial album to date (and one full to bursting of the kind of melodies and hooks that plenty of their peers would give their right arm for) but done so without compromising any of the attitude that sets them apart in the first place. That waiting room is going to get cleared out of also-rans in the near future, but on this evidence, Lower Than Atlantis won’t been leaving any time soon.

Tags: Lower Than Atlantis, Reviews, Album Reviews