I, The Lion is an up-and-coming band from the UK, that has found its comfort zone in post-punk, a direction that I admittedly wasn’t quite aware of before listening to its new EP Run. Naturally, I was intrigued by this new genre and equally excited to discover it.
But, let me be honest: when I started listening to the EP for the first time, I was taking care of some stuff in my living room and I thought to myself that it was going to be just another run-off-the-mill pop punk band. But then, a bit more than two minutes in, I stopped what I was doing for a second because a cool part in the song came up, only to resume my chores…until the three minute mark when I literally looked up and sat down to enjoy the rest of the amazing sixteen minutes in peace.
How can I describe their sound best, I wonder? I’d say that it’s a mix of pop punk and post-hardcore, because it features catchy and easy-going song structures on one hand, and energetic technical explosions on the other. Let me backtrack to the above-mentioned magical three minute mark part, which is a prime example of their musical prowess, where the guitar keeps climbing a scale, only to erupt into a groove-laden part with perfect harmony between powerful drums and a crushing guitar riff, which is underlain by a dreamy high-pitched rhythm guitar part. I absolutely love it.
The one thing I have slightly mixed feelings about, however, are the vocals. Even though the singer delivers a respectable performance throughout the four songs, I just can’t really get into his clean vocals, because they come across as a bit flat and monotonous for the most part. It feels as if this is his first go at clean singing, but I’m quite convinced that with a bit more practice, the end result will be perfect. His screams, on the other hand, tickle my fancy just right!
What can I say? Run is an EP that is definitely worth your time, because it delivers in all the right places and is chock-full of memorable parts. You can check out the band’s Facebook page for more information and listen to the discussed-above opener below, before checking out the full release on February 9th.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy7Q-cJDI6A]