Light Of Words – Those Left Behind
Light Of Words are a new five-piece band from Bristol who offer a new angle on the hand-wringing indie rock subgenre that has filled up the airwaves since the appearance of Coldplay. Their songs are given great warmth and charisma by the gravelly whisper of frontman Chris Dean.
The album begins delicately enough, courtesy of the acoustic melancholia of opener ‘Trip Up’. However, it soon becomes clear that Light Of Words have a penchant for slow-building epics in the same vein as Snow Patrol (‘A Sound Will Guide You’, So Calm Now’ and ”Too Soon’). Yet the songs don’t fall under the weight of the big build-up and thanks to Dean’s unique vocals they retain an individuality too.
Good though these moments are, they really achieve their peak on the terrific ‘Snowfall’, which sees the band align their sadness-tinged music with a thrilling post-rock storm of guitars. Similarly, the nine minute long ‘One More’ reveals even more depth and its deviation in to progressive territories whilst still retaining an emotional edge make it another standout moment.
‘Those Left Behind’ is a fine soundtrack to the onset of the coldest season with Dean’s tender tones providing the comforting words to keep away the wintry chills. Whilst it has plenty of commercial potential though, the Bristol band have achieved a level of subtlety to ensure they don’t fall into the levels of shallowness, which undermines the work of so many of their contemporaries.
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