How not to waste away as an indie rock artist (EP Week, Part 1)
Written: Mar 03 '05 (Updated Mar 03 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: This is a tight lineup. Great guitar solos, and Nathan Barlowe never sounded better.
Cons: Only 4 songs. "Save Me" might annoy some Christian fans.
The Bottom Line: This is a remarkably solid teaser for their upcoming album, due out in two thousand and ????.
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| divad23's Full Review: Wasting Away [EP] - Luna Halo Movies |
Man, what happened to all of the new bands I fell in love with right around the turn of the century? It seems like half of 'em broke up after one or two albums, and the other half just disappeared off the radar. Luna Halo is one of those bands - ever since their debut record Shimmer came out in 2000, I've been eager to hear a follow-up. True to that album's title, the band had a positively glowing brand of modern rock that was one part Radiohead-inspired guitar glory and one part extremely hooky melody. Lead singer Nathan Barlowe had this absolutely golden voice that didn't sound like any rock singer I could name, outside of maybe Kevin Max, and even that was a loose connection. Man, I just ate that album up.
And apparently, not many other people did, because the promised follow-up album kept getting pushed back, and never arrived. Numerous line-up changes had me fearing the worst, but then, this wasn't a first for Nathan Barlowe - his original band, Reality Check, was completely reconfigured into Luna Halo when the more rap-influenced side of the group took off. So it shouldn't have bothered me that the new Luna Halo had about as much in common with the old Luna Halo as the old Luna Halo did with Reality Check (e.g. one member). Surprisingly, despite the lineup changes and the loss of their incredible guitarist Jonny Macintosh, the group has more or less maintained its core sound, just adding a little musical muscle where it was most needed.
As an indie band, Luna Halo has been putting out EP's to keep their fans happy - there's probably enough material between them for a full CD at this point. So far, I've only been able to hear last year's Wasting Away, which has a meager 4 songs and runs for 15 minutes - but let me tell you, this is some good stuff. Now featuring Nathan's brother Cary Barlowe on guitar, and a backing band that has been road tested at gigs for - surprise! - Kevin Max, Wasting Away hit's the sweet spot with 3 scorching rockers and one slightly mellower song, giving us a hint of what that elusive second album will be like. Let's just say that if it's this good, then dude, I'll be first in line to buy it.
Wasting Away
Shattered dreams fill the night
Promises turned to lies
Dust to dust in the earth
Feed my soul to the worms...
While it's easy to notice that the guitar riffs that get this song revved up are slightly dirtier in tone than the more fluid dynamics of Shimmer's songs, the most surprising change here is actually in Nathan's vocal approach. As the rocking intro falls away for a quiet, acoustic verse, Nathan's voice kind of jumps in and out of falsetto, taking on a more theatrical style that we didn't hear as much before. There's an overall tone of desperation and coming nearly unglued on this album, which finds its early climax here in the scorching, stretched-out wails of the chorus - the sheer force of the words "WAS-TING A-WAAAAAYYYYYYYY-EY-EY!!!!!" is just mind-blowing. Fittingly, this is a pretty dark song about mortal life and the tendency for order to turn into disorder, and it's fitting to note that the band doesn't spell out the answers to these problems in a brief three minutes, choosing instead to let Cary unleash a jumpy solo that would make Jonny Greenwood proud, and end on a final crash of cymbals rather than executing the expected return to the chorus.
Over the Edge
Burn, burn baby, with this passion
Take, take what you want from me
Hey, hey, break it to me gently
Give, give me a sweet release...
Taking on a slower, more groovy pace, Nathan pulls out a bit of swagger for this second tune, describing what it's like to just me have a completely out-of-control, beyond-the-edge-of-rational desire to be with someone. I kind of like this new "dangerous" approach to songwriting - songs like "Aliens" on their first album didn't necessarily play it safe either, but there are some things you can't get away with in the Christian music biz, where you're expected to always explain yourself within the context of a single song. I suppose God could be the receipient of this desire if you like, but it this context, it would seem a little contrived. Anyway, despite the even-keeled, head-bobbing tempo, there's a Skillet-like ragged edge to Nathan's vocals that works well within the generally melodic context. The short bursts of guitar during the bridge add a lot of energy, too. Like the first song, it ends without returning to its chorus after the bridge, which actually makes me wonder if the band had limited recording time. Whatever the case, it doesn't sound like the production suffered from an indie budget (rarely do indie rock records sound this tight to my ears!), so let us thank our lucky stars for that and move on.
Bittersweet
Blood, sweat and tears, hunger, thirst and pain
For you I'd go through everything
You're the reason why I would walk thru fire
And everything behind my dark desire...
Aaron Jenkins's ominous bass line keeps the tempo more or less the same as the previous song, while swirly studio noises add a little bit of mystique, as do the surprisingly clean-sounding (i.e. much less distortion) guitar appregios that back up this song's verses. It's to Nathan's credit that he's able to sound genuinely p!ssed off here without resorting to screaming - he's calm enough in the verses, where he describes the sacrifices he'd gladly go through for someone - but just wait for that chorus! He just knocks it out of the park here, wailing "So I GIIIIIIIIVE!!! And you TAAAAAAAAAKE! And forGEEEEEETTTTT the heart you BREEEEEAAAAAAAKKKK!" I just dare you to try to imitate that without losing your voice. Topping it off are some cool drum/cymbal cadences from Chris Coleman in the song's center, and another bit of nervous guitar noodling played fast and loud by Cary, which kicks the frenzy level into overdrive. I wouldn't consider this "hard-rock" because there's no guttural screaming and really no trace of any metal influence, but it sure is some of the noisiest rock I've heard in a while that could still be loosely considered radio-friendly (in that it has a tune, a catchy chorus, etc.)
Save Me
Would you hate me
If I can't give everything, would you give up
Would you burn me, would you break me
Until my soul has had enough...
The final song in this short set is a bit of an enigma, one that's probably had idiot newbies on Christian music message boards posting stuff like "hey have u guys heard of luna halo? my bro said their christain but they have this song thatz asking a gurl to save them instead of jesus so they must not be christain anymore LOLZ!!!" OK, so admittedly, it is a bit word to hear a band from CCM-land crooning the words "I don't need you, you're not my Jesus, but you could save me tonight." But hey, look at the bigger picture. Amidst the lovely, vaguely Brit-pop sounding keyboard and acoustic guitar lines, you'll hear a guy and a girl who are just struggling to give each other the love that they're supposed to be giving each other as a married couple. And to some degree, they have to be able to depend on each other - why get married if they didn't, to some degree, need each other? If you can look past the occasionally awkward way that it's worded, I think it's a good example of how marital love can mirror the love that Jesus has for the church, and how the bigger picture is apparent in that other person effectively "saving us" from facing the world alone. Those who aren't looking at it from a Christian perspective will probably find the Jesus reference to be odd, but just take it as a sweet, innocent love song aside from that. It probably isn't Luna Halo's best song, but it's a thought-provoking note to end on.
At six bucks, which is what I think this sucker is currently selling for, I don't think you can go wrong. Two awesome songs and two pretty good ones for not much more (maybe less in some cases) than what you'd pay for a CD single with a good track and a bunch of filler. Definitely a good way to check out what I hope is an up-and-comer in the mainstream rock world. (Hey, a guy can always wish the best for a band he likes that most folks don't know anything about - it worked for Switchfoot after all!)
OVERALL WORTH:
Wasting Away $2
Over the Edge $1.50
Bittersweet $2
Save Me $1
TOTAL: $6.50
Band Members:
Nathan Barlowe - Lead vocals, guitar
Cary Barlowe - Lead guitar
Aaron Jeknins - Bass
Chris Coleman - Drums
Website: http://www.lunahalo.com
Recommended:
Yes
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divad23
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Member: David Martin
Location: Pasadena, CA
Reviews written: 554
Trusted by: 257 members
About Me:
Just add an implicit "in my humble opinion" to every sentence I write.
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