‘Neath The Moon is the latest release from Loor a Los Heroes, a delightful jangly entity that’s bound to get your head bopping – embarrassingly, as I found – if you listen to it in public. ‘Lucy’ is a carefully controlled little number with a dominating vocal that compliments the percussion perfectly. When we reviewed their single ‘Heartbreak Girl’ for The Indiependent earlier this year we likened them to The Crookes, and we stand by that sentiment. Much like the Sheffield band, Loor a los Heroes provide the listener with neat and witty lyricism: “time is money, honey / you’re wasting mine”.
‘Walk With Me’ relies heavily on a staccato backing vocal style and it’s with ease listeners are able to sing along to the “ba ba baba ba ba ba baba da” that substantiates the track throughout. Christopher Holleran’s drumming takes a slightly more subdued role in this track in contrast to ‘Lucy’, allowing the driving melody to be carried by Matthew Smith and Flynn Murnan’s guitars. Joseph Howard’s bass is fundamental to the EP: he is very much the glue that holds this talented unit together.
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‘Best Days’ is a slightly weaker track musically but the lyrical more than makes up for it: “the odds are stacked / cause it’s a matter of fact / that it’s a little bit harder to be normal”. This is a song that is made for being shouted back to Loor a Los Heroes. There’s an unexpected mechanically voiced overlay to the track which allows it to take on a meatier quality as it builds to a wholly satisfying crescendo. Slow starting, but ending on a high, we’ll let the band off as ‘Best Days’ fades into the title track ‘’Neath The Moon’.
Turn the lights down low and get your lighters out because as Murnan sings about December and nature, this is a thoughtful and pensive reflection for listeners to sway to, as a solid EP reaches its conclusion. This track is evocative of trees in Winter; a silhouette of their summer beauty, but hauntingly beautiful in their bareness. “If we lay here forever / then our bones would one day become the earth”. It’s full of beautiful lyricism, a carefully regulated melody with appropriate ‘oohs’ for maximum audience participation.
Loor a Los Heroes have impressed us once again, and we’re fully behind them here at The Indiependent – we can’t wait to hear what they can come up with in 2015!
You can listen to or buy the ‘Neath The Moon EP here
Words by Beth Kirkbride