'Don't be confused, our love is true'

Todays band is another found using Purevolume.com's random profile jump feature (and i think i'll probably stop introducing bands with that sentance since i'm pretty sure most bands from now on will come from there) and another one to add to the ranks of bands suffering identity crises in music. So have fun with the review and make sure to check out 

AS TALL AS LIONS

Predominantly an indie/rock band, these guys are pretty typical in the treatment of their music. The usual power chords and drum fillers, solid lyrics that range from slow soulful ballard to loud, almost shouty crescendo. Honestly i could end the review here and now, but that would make me really shit and what little readers i have now will be gone forever.

So. Let us delve deeper in the world of As Tall as Lions, partly to make this review even slightly readable, and partly because i really like the name of the band and want to try to like them as much as possible. So let's go.

I think the first thing i need to say is that, in retrospect, i probably downloaded the wrong album. Using the random profile jump feature of purevolume i searched for a band labelled 'Ambient' so naturally i was rather surprised when these guys showed up. But once you get past the beginning couple of rock heavy tracks, you begin to see there is definately more to them. No unfortunately the album i downloaded called 'Lafcadio' is almost entirely built on these rock heavy tracks so i adivse to listen to their playlist on purevolume and their selftitled first album, which apparently utilises the more ambient side of this band more but since i've been a little short on time today (no i wasn't busy, just sleeping mostly) i haven't had time to give their debut album a listen. I'm not saying don't listen to 'Lafcadio' because it's an alright album (and it does have a good couple less rock driven songs - 'Silhouettes/silhouetting' and 'Why we cry at movies'), it just doesn't really showcase the best music the band has to offer.


So when this band do ambient, they do it really well. You may  notice with these guys that their music is almost entirely driven by the vocals of the lead man. His powerful voice really gives some great depth to even the more shallow rock tunes. As soon as he gets that little bit soulful though in the slower tracks, that's when he really shines. I'd almost go so far as to say his voice has an Elbow front man element to it. That voice that somehow goes from gutteral lows to pretty graceful highs almost effortlessly.And this to me is what saves As Tall as Lions from the yawning chasm of generic indie/rock bands out there and what has saved this review from dying a death after the first paragraph.
So what do this band really amount to then? Similar in a way to the last couple of bands i've reviewed, i think this band almost struggles to define themselves in the typical sense of genre establishment, and to be fair todays music is split into so many genres and sub-genres that i don't really blame them to be honest. But essentially what we have here is primarily typical rock driven music with that odd glimpse of soulful melody and a singer who really brings the whole thing together with a strong, versatile voice.