Words: Alyce Ruby
The alternative rock threesome from Devon, Pylon Poets are releasing their second E.P this Friday ‘Lucid Hallucinations’. The band worked with producer Josiah J Manning on the new release, known for his work with other Devon natives – Moriaty.
‘Lucid Hallucinations’ has slowly been released single by single since March of this year, with ‘Breathe’, ‘Abandon’ and ‘Rise and Call’. The new unreleased single ‘Reverie’ opens the body of work, and is by far the strongest track on the E.P. The bass acts as the driving force throughout the song from the dramatic, heavy intro to the guitar solo on the bridge. The instrumental on the track sounds fantastic, I just wish the vocals had a bit of gruff to them. The music is edgy; the vocals sound too clean.
After ‘Reverie’ opens the E.P with a bang, we are taken to the second released single ‘Abandon’. Opening with a strong synth that remains in the back throughout the song, ‘Abandon’ is already much darker than ‘Reverie’ with lyrics of turmoil. The layers of bass, guitar and synth hold the track together for me, remaining the focal point.
‘Breathe’ is up next, whilst still sounding dark - a much more laid-back track compared to the rest of the E.P. Synths are at play again, taking more of a presence throughout the song. The less heavy sound compliments the vocals much better on this track than the rest of the work, it gets away with a cleaner vocal with the instrumental being more mellowed.
The E.P closes out with the same sound from the first two tracks on ‘Rise and Call’. Like ‘Reverie’, the bass carries this song through giving us a little taste of the grit I’ve been craving since the beginning. The thing that completes this track though is the thought-provoking music video (available on the band’s YouTube channel), that acts along with the lyrics as a commentary on the events of 2020.
It’s a solid E.P with a strong opener and a powerful finish. The synth is a unique sound to the band, that works very well with the bass and guitar keeping the tempo throughout. The vocals are just too clean for the instrumentals. I need a bit of edge, the grit that many indie/rock bands get right. It sounds almost over produced, the vocals sound isolated from the music and they just don’t blend. I want that grit lads.
The singles ‘Abandon’, ‘Breathe’ and ‘Rise and Call’ are available to stream now. ‘Reverie’ will be out with the E.P this Friday on the 18th, you’ll have to wait til then if you want the full listening experience. ***
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