BY ROBIN MUMFORD OF THE INDIE PLUG
Their Spotify bio reads: "An Englishman, an Indian man and an Italian all walked into an art class at college. They messed around with some paint, life drew a few nudes, then decided to form a new band and make music. Today they are known as Lyon Tide."
It's an introductory paragraph that prepares you for their softly forged music, which is on exhibition in the Birmingham-based band's debut album, 'Beginnings Of Ends'. As a release that studies the complex strands of relationships, you would be forgiven if you were to take on Lyon Tide's debut work, leaving with the impression that it was produced to soothe the ears of its listeners.
With Lyon Tide, you embark on a journey of upbeat timbre, glossed over with a hint of post-Britpop shrill. The band takes inspiration from the mellow and fleeting vocals of John Lennon in their music, setting the scene for a release that will make you feel like you are floating pendulously above the clouds.
Closure, the opening song, takes on the pianissimo dynamic that can be evident through this debut release. As the first flow hits your senses, a sweeping melody of a guitar knocks you off your feet before the tempo of the song fluctuates between slow and fast, quiet and loud, ultimately leading to an array of atmospheres. The best word I could think of when listening to this release was 'invigorating.' The second song, 'Hero', also follows this notion; it quite simply invigorates your emotions, making you feel like you are effortlessly floating through the air and nothing really matters in the moment.
'Butterfly', which marks the midway point of the album, is our pick for the best that this 10-song album has to offer. The piano chords that work so seamlessly well with the peace evoking vocals help to build a John Lennon feel to it, further stirring melodies of tranquillity into Lyon Tide's enigmatic construction. Gold looks to continue the soft vocals that are seen in the previously mentioned song but aims to stimulate a deeper ambience. "Because you'll never find gold at the end of the rainbow" resonates through the sixth song, successfully leaving a weighty thought on the listener's minds.
In a recent interview with cooltop20, the band explained that "We always struggle to pigeon-hole our sound and generally go for a mash-up of genres like indie electro-pop/rock in our description."
A clear switch in the genre is in their 'Concoction Of Science', which draws its influences from electronic-based instruments. While most of the album can be assigned to one or two genres that are similar in some aspects, Science chooses to stray away from Beginnings of Ends main ingredient, highlighting the band's aptitude to perform an assortment of sounds. Their ability to experiment with a profusion of sounds only helps Lyon Tide in their journey to musical stardom, withdrawing the problem that many up and coming bands face; the hindrance of sounding the same from song to song.
To describe this album in layman's terms, Beginnings of Ends is invigorating. You know when you listen to a new song or album for the first time, and you suddenly discover a new lease of motivation to do something? That is the euphoric feeling that Lyon Tide will give you. I don't necessarily mean that their songs are as motivational as Eminem or anything, but seriously, the fleeting and drifting melodies leave you feeling uplifted. Lyon Tide has already shown what they are capable of, and they've underpinned capabilities of exploring the far reaches of musical sound. Beginnings of Ends is a brilliant kickstarter for this Birmingham-based band. ****
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