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TWO
WAY MONOLOGUES
cd
reviews • March 2007
Alexandre Poulin
Lonesome Sky
TwoWayMonologs.com
Chances
are you've already heard of a Swedish band named The Lost Patrol, but
that is not the subject of this review. The Lost Patrol that I'm talking
about here is from New Jersey and right now based in Brooklyn, New York.
What's funny is that I was actually looking for the Swedish band when
I fell upon the wrong web site. But I decided to give a listen to listen
to a band who identify themselves as Louge/Surf/Pop and asked them for
a promo; seeing that their last album, Lonesome Sky, was released independently
in 2005, there was something about them that made me curious. It's always
fun to investigate unknown artists.
The first thing that caught me about this record was
the superb voice of Danielle Kimak Stauss. I do not, by any means, consider
her voice to be phenomenal, but it sounds very femme-fatale, like it's
coming from a James Bond movie. The way the band produced the vocals has
also something to do with it. Sometimes one could think he's listening
to My Favorite with Andrea Vaughn at the lead vocals. Actually, both bands
have some of the same influences.
The
Smiths, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure are some
of the more obvious influences of The Lost Patrol, with a special love
for 12-string acoustic guitars. Actually, all songs are acoustic guitar-based,
and there's some backup from a synthetizer and an electric guitar with
pedal effects at times, to make the sound more wide and spacious.
I
feel like Lonesome Sky is an ideal album to put in your car stereo for
a nice relaxing drive. On the other hand, the ride must not take more
time than twice the length of the album or there's a big chance of getting
bored. There isn't really a bad song on this, but once you've discovered
how cool Stauss' voice was, the similar formula starts to get old after
track five.
Track
six tries to change things a little bit by being the only song sung by
group member Michael Williams, but even if there's a certain entertainment
to the song, you start thinking the band is running out of imagination.
That
being said, even if there's quite a lack of diversity here, it doesn't
mean this album a bad one. I cannot tell how many times I have had the
song "Lonesome Sky" on repeat in my car. Dreamy, ethereal, acoustic-based
guitar pop can sometimes get annoying, but it's usually good when you
don't abuse it. There's nothing to knock you on your back, but there are
also few reasons to miss out on this band.
I
am happy to have found The Lost Patrol from NY, and I am looking forward
for more of their stuff. Again, Danielle's voice alone is worth it.
SCORE: 7.2
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