Bad For Lazarus
It’s almost pointless to say that Bad For Lazarus are currently touring, because it seems these guys are very rarely at home. The pop-punk five piece from Brighton are set to release their first full length album In May; but with their hard working attitudes, they couldn’t resist stepping into the studio to record a pre-release EP to wet your dirty-pop appetites.
The EP, which they simply titled 25, offers something a little lighter for their listeners; a toned down version of what’s to come when the album releases in May. This could come as a shock to those familiar with Bad For Lazarus, as the band are usually known for their hard-hitting, loud and heavy live performances. However, the band insists that even though this has been called a quieter musical offering, the fans have nothing to worry about: "The challenge was to write something in a minimalist, softer style that isn’t completely horrible. I don’t think there’s anything worse than when a good rock artist ‘get’s sensitive’ and trades their wit and style for introspection and general wussyness."
Just like the title of EP, the opening track is called 25 (in case anyone missed it the first time around). Lead singer Rich Fownes kicks off the record with the words ‘you’ve been a good friend and a wonderful lover; you put the blood to my lungs’. It isn’t immediately obvious here that the band were setting out to do anything drastically different with the record, as the first track isn’t too far away from their signature sound.
The guitars remain distorted and the lyrics sit comfortably in the rock and roll genre they seem so comfortable to be part of. It’s not until you reach Jon Vs Apocalypse and the latter tracks on the EP, that it all finally clicks. Including piano organs, trumpets, acoustic guitars and violins, the signature Bad For Lazarus sound hasn’t been changed, but rather slightly adjusted.
It only takes three tracks for the band to slip back into the distorted guitar riffs and up-tempo music they are used to, with Go, Diego, Go sounding like anything else they have previously released, but the calmer sound of Cozy reminds the band what they were setting out to do on this record. 25 has retained the light-hearted mo-town vibe that the band are well known for, but has allowed them to explore their other musical influences at the same time, giving us a refreshing warm-up for their full length release in May.
Any fans of rock and roll music should give 25 a chance; you can pick up 25 from Itunes on March 28. If the bands hard working ethic is anything to go by, they will most probably be touring as you’re reading this. Make sure you catch Bad For Lazarus coming to a town near you.
Female First - Edward Lewis