Artist: Screaming Lights , ‘GMN’ b/w “Glow’ , Released 22 December ’08
Review by James Lewis:
Screaming lights are a band from Liverpool and they’ve already caught the attention of Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe with the song ‘Glow’ from this double A-side release.
When the opening bars of track ‘GMN’ kick off, it’s on the borderline of being a Euro-dance tune…HOWEVER, this goes completely out of the window when the singer cuts in and comes across like a mixture somewhere between Ian Curtis (Joy Division) and Tom Smith (Editors). And in my opinion that’s certainly a good thing!
From that moment on, despite the track being dominated by the synth’s, it’s the vocals, guitar and drums that are the backbone and driving force of the song. The intense vocal performance is certainly impressive and I can’t imagine a crowd resisting the urge to get carried away by the song and energy the band definitely exude on disc.
‘Glow’, however has got an early 90’s ‘baggy’ feel to it. The guitar takes centre stage with some catchy melodies and licks that hark back to The Stone Roses circa ‘Made of Stone’. The snare drum even bangs along in a way that makes the song all the more danceable which for me means it would fit nicely on any Indie clubs playlist between Blur’s ‘There’s No Other Way’ and the full-length version of ‘Fool’s Gold’.
Based on this release I would recommend Screaming Lights to anyone who likes their music ranging from Depeche Mode to My Bloody Valentine and certainly many bands inbetween, but I would imagine that more could be learnt about Screaming Lights from seeing them live which you can do so at the following places;
24 Jan 2009 The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK
27 Jan 2009 Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle, London
28 Jan 2009 Fleche D’or, Paris
30 Jan 2009 The Hub, Exeter
31 Jan 2009 We are Rock Stars @ Unit, Southampton
GMN/Glow is available to download from iTunes.
For more information, go to;
www.screaminglights.freeforums.org
or
www.myspace.com/screaminglights
screaming lights are an awsome band despite some poor reviews from NME they are still going and keep belting out great tunes there certainly a band not to be missed !!
Personally, Id say a poor review from the NME is a badge of honour considering the rubbish they seem to continually hype up.
Anyway, saw these guys at Reading and they were brilliant. Really tight and energetic, great vocals, got the crowd going and as it was on the bbc introducing stage loads of ppl walking by were drawn in and by the end they had a massive crowd for their timeslot.