LAKES- ‘This World Of Ours, It Came Apart’
Tough to Google but easy to listen to, Lakes make sincere, sparkling emo that’s well worth diving into. The Watford outfit’s debut album, ‘The Constance’, was a tidy effort that employed complex but clean arrangements and unique instrumentation (hello, glockenspiel) to draw rave reviews at home and far outside the UK scene. The two tracks here, however, might be the best they’ve ever written. ‘Warning Signs’ dials back the band’s poppiest tendencies and the pace to sound more in sync with its yearning, heartbroken lyrics, while ‘Kids’ is, despite its title, even more grown up. It’s packed with more memorable vocal melodies in the first two minutes than other bands manage on whole albums, it features former Real Friends frontman Dan Lambton but never leans on his presence, and if it was recorded by some scene stalwart, say American Football, people would be saying it was one of the best songs of the year so far. I could leave it on repeat all day. Lakes still sparkle then, but now it’s easier to see how much is going on under the surface too.
