CD REVIEW!!!

 

Artist: The Lost Patrol

CD: "Midnight Matinee"

Label: Self Released

I can't believe that I've never heard of The Lost Patrol until they asked to send in a CD for possible review.

This band is so utterly up my alley.

This three piece mixes big echo-y/reverb-y guitars with haunting, epic (but not over-the-top-bombastic) vocals. Take a good look at the CD cover. The 60s meets the 80s design matches perfectly the music found inside.

Right from the first few notes of the album's kick off ("On the Run") and I was more than intrigued. I heard both surf music and Echo & the Bunnymen in the full bodied guitar. I wanted to hear more. Other 80s bands come to mind when listening to this collection: vocalist Mollie Israel evokes the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant on "Colours Turn Grey", elements reminiscent of INXS appear here and there.

But "Midnight Matinee" has more up its sleeve than 80s nostalgia. There is a lushness found on these songs (especially "Blue Lullabies") that is tropical, Hawaiian. Mollie's vocals border on the ethereal but they're
stronger and more human than that. Listening to "Distance" you can hear the ghosts of goth *AND* country.

I found this album more than addictive, it's ~seductive~. Every time I put it on I was lured to it, pulled from away from whatever I was doing to pay attention to the music. This may be rock on the quieter side but it holds my attention all the more for its restraint.

Mark be down as a fan of The Lost Patrol and their echo-drenched, haunted rock.

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The Lost Patrol
http://thelostpatrol.com/