Having impressed with debut EP, Adventures in 2015, British rockers Brightlight City now reveal the blossoming invention and increasing maturity in their sound with successor Our Future’s Not Dead. Hinted at by a pair of singles last year, the new release is evidence of a band building on an impressive start and potential with stylish adventure whilst nurturing a whole new promise for continued growth.
Surrey bred, Brightlight City weave in inspirations from the likes of Hundred Reasons, Million Dead, Yourcodenameis:milo, At the Drive-In, Biffy Clyro, and Jimmy Eat World into their sound; indeed sparking comparisons to the former and others such as Thursday and Hell Is For Heroes with their melody rich and harmonically honed songs. Equally there is a fresh and potent catchiness and steel to Our Future’s Not Dead which as suggested was first glimpsed within last year’s singles Gravity and Thieves. It is a growth in sound which has come with an increasing reputation and praise for their live shows through the quintet sharing stages with Max Raptor, Fizzy Blood, Bad Sign, and Blood Youth and playing alongside Rise Against and Millencolin at Envol et Macadam Festival in Canada in 2015as well as their own shows.
Recorded with Matt Hyde (Funeral For A Friend, Bullet For My Valentine, Slipknot), Our Future’s Not Dead is likely to spark another bout of attention and hunger for Brightlight City, setting out its persuasive strength with opener It Depends On You. Skittish beats alongside vocal and guitar offered temptation bring the song into focus; their low key yet agitated attitude soon a full roar as vocalist Jamie Giarraputo heads a web of melodic enterprise from guitarists Jonathan Staunton and Justin Giarraputo, the latter adding his own potent vocal expression to the mix. Anthemic in heart, imposing in rhythm as the hefty jabs of drummer Ben Bell court the brooding lines of bassist Tom Stock, the track roars with energy and passion.
With a mellower air Leave A Light On follows, wiry melodies swimming round a throaty bassline as emotive vocals entice with distinctive expression. Once again there is an instinctive catchiness at work, never wavering as fiery textures evolve and unite in a livelier blaze of sound and emotion. In some ways it is a less intricate proposition than its predecessor but only to its strength as each element is a flame of craft and drama before making way for Heart Stops. The third track comes coated in the infectiousness of the opener, its swinging body almost pop punk like and relentlessly coaxing listener involvement with its vocal harmonies and controlled but boisterous swing; a tenacious essence just as open in the calmer moments of a song taking best track honours.
The EP is brought to an end by Past/Future, a track epitomising the evolution in the Brightlight City sound with its rounded fusion of melody and energy amidst a new depth of contagiousness and invention. As all the songs within Our Future’s Not Dead it is a memorable and lingering encounter going to make a thoroughly enjoyable and impressing release. The Brightlight City sound has yet to become something truly unique but as the EP shows, it is well on the way and providing some rather tasty encounters along the way.
Our Future’s Not Dead is out now through Undead Collective Records.
https://www.brightlightcityofficial.co.uk/ https://www.facebook.com/brightlightcityofficial https://twitter.com/blcband
Pete RingMaster 12/04/2017
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
Recorded, as the first EP, with producer Jonny Renshaw, Closure opens with the calm yet agitated Breathe. Its brief body is a melodic coaxing of guitar and keys with the potent vocal caresses of Tarsus laying out his emotive reflection. Around it though is a tension, an underlying almost portentously melancholic air which erupts in full rigour within the following 24/7. A vocal roar sparks a stalking of the senses by predatory beats and grievous yet buoyant riffs. They do carry some restraint which is quickly thrown off once Tarsus vents with impressive expression and vocal dexterity as the rest of the band spring an inescapable web of creative animosity and temptation. On the surface, the Blood Youth sound does not strike as being overtly unique yet from a salacious bassline and the irritability of vocals, which seem to transfer their spikiness into the hungry sonic enterprise, band and song show themselves to be something imaginatively distinct and pleasingly volatile.
Instantly rugged riffs and rumbling rhythms swamp ears as vocalist Miles Kent, backed as potently by the harmonic tones of guitarist Neal Arkley, nudge attention. It is a thick but controlled beginning turning into a far friskier stroll as drummer Ash Wain’s swings become more dynamic and aggressive whilst vocals continue to easily please. That boisterous nature continues into the steely bass prowl cast by Joseph Ryan Askew’s fingers and on to the sonic blend of riffs and melodies spun by Arkley and Tim Bell. It is a heavily engaging and rousing encounter elevating to new heights and standout individualism when it canters through a low key but provocative passage of vocal shadows and harmonies within a cage of almost predatory textures.