I'll start with the bad news. I'm not a post-hardcore/emo fan. So when it comes to listening to bands like Lost In Rhone I sometimes find them difficult to review - firstly because their particular style uninspiring to me, and secondly because I have less knowledge of the genre to make comparisons. On to a more positive note, I try, as far as possible, to put my feelings aside and give each promo I hear a fair hearing - whether I like it or not.

Okay then, Lost In Rhone. They've been around since 2003, and 'Beloved Be The Ones Who Sit Down' is their debut album. From listening to the album I was impressed by their musicality.

They can write decent enough riffs, pretty melodies and there's a little drum solo at the beginning of 'Le Temps Du Loup' that I like. There's nothing out of place and their composition is pretty solid, with enough changes in style and tempo to keep it interesting.

I'm not keen on the 'good cop/bad cop clean/shouted vocals. For this reason, 'On Becoming A Vampire' appeals more to me than some of the other tracks on the album - there are hardly any shouty vocals (about two words). Even when tracks do feature shouting vocals, they're not as irritating as a lot of bands I hear down my local pub.

Put it this way - if I heard one of the tracks from 'Beloved' at my local I would tolerate it with equanimity, as opposed to getting narked at the DJ like an old man ('Call this a metal pub do you? Bah!').

The sixth track, 'Hysbrydion', is what the band have termed an 'instrumental intermezzo'. A piano solo played rather haltingly to begin and end with (which is a great technique), and it leads nicely into the following track, 'Walk With Daedalus', so it fits in neatly with the rest of the album rather than sticking out like a sore thumb.

The band are unafraid to try different techniques such as the spoken word/drum end to the last track, 'E.P.S.'. I like the originality of this plus it is quite short instead of a long, clichéd outro. They do have a bit of an intro which screams cliché to me, but as it is a simple intro to the first track instead of being a discrete piece of music it's actually pretty good - it demonstrates Lost In Rhone's ability to play music rather than start their album with a load of sound effects or the like.

Lost In Rhone have done well to impress me with their debut album - like I say it's not really my thing but I can respect this band. They've got a good line in writing songs and playing. Can't say fairer than that, can you?

****

Review by Amanda Hyne

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