Seas of Furious Lizards
We were recently put on to Leeds based Seas of Furious Lizards and told we should check them out. Let it be said before anything that this is one of the coolest band names I think I’ve ever heard, pure genius! On top of that, the picture of the ninja lizard taking out Jesus on their music page is also pretty damned cool, but I guess the review is all about the music really!
Opening electronic and backed by strange noises and sound effects, Stop Selling Out Your Own Species opens making the listener question what on earth they’ve just put on. Soon enough the guitars kick in, still backed by the strange noises but with an added synth vibe in there giving the track even more depth. Taking on an almost funky edge at times, the opening of the track moves between these funked up guitar lines and some harmonic sections, all the time backed by a request to stop selling out your own species, intriguing to say the least. Building from this solid foundation, the vocals take on a haunting edge, still backed by those building guitars and jumpy synth effects before the finale kicks in, guitars and synth all backing these cool crisp vocals and pushing the track to its conclusion.
April opens with a simple drum beat, almost sound electronic at first but acting as a build up to the opening of the track. Over laid with guitars and bass this track continues the almost chilled approach of the previous track whilst maintaining that uneasy edge which the band seem to adopt. As the guitars kick in accompanied by a lead line I would challenge anyone who says they are not taken aback by the sound these guys have achieved. I’ve heard professional, and this is beyond that. The sound is so deep, so big and so moving that I found myself stopping everything and just listening, they’ve found that almost ‘Bill and Ted’ moment in music for me, the moment where the music takes over and makes everything around you look good.
As April ends and W.M.I.A.S kicks in, those electronic sounds come back and the drums once again set the scene for the track. This time though, the guitars take on a raspy edge, much heavier than before, again using vocal samples to back them up. The only way to describe the guitar line here is uneasy, there’s something about the way it progresses which is quite unsettling, almost horror movie-esque. As further vocal samples kick in, the guitars speed up, the drums take on a syncopated edge, screams fill the back ground and then as quickly as it kicks off, calm returns. 2.13 though everything once again kicks off, but in amazing fashion. The lead line comes back in backed by solid riffs and hammering drums, again taking on that big sound all backed by a solid bass line. The track closes in a frenzy of drums and guitars, really again leaving me questioning what I’d just heard.
The final track on the bands FB page is a Demo called Come With Me If You Want To Live. Normally I don’t like to include Demos in reviews as quite often they can be misrepresentative of the bands current state. In this case though, the drums kick in taking on a syncopated approach, the guitars are layered to give depth, the synth is there once again to back everything up, the bass line is easy to pick out (which I love as it so often gets lost in the mix) and you’re treated to a sample of what this band do. Adding extra depth with some piano, this track again adopts that beautiful uneasiness which others did, although this time also giving the sense of building up into something more.
In all, I’ve truly been taken aback by these guys, this is some seriously accomplished music here. I was almost put off by the electronic sounds at first but give them a chance and you’ll soon realise that these guys are producing music which everyone needs to hear as it tells a story. There’s no story set in stone for each track, you make your own as you hear it. Whether these tracks make you remember things, plan things or simply see the world in a new way, it’s quite a feat to manage something like that through the power of music, and these guys have done it in style.
To find out more about Seas Of Furious Lizards, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Opening electronic and backed by strange noises and sound effects, Stop Selling Out Your Own Species opens making the listener question what on earth they’ve just put on. Soon enough the guitars kick in, still backed by the strange noises but with an added synth vibe in there giving the track even more depth. Taking on an almost funky edge at times, the opening of the track moves between these funked up guitar lines and some harmonic sections, all the time backed by a request to stop selling out your own species, intriguing to say the least. Building from this solid foundation, the vocals take on a haunting edge, still backed by those building guitars and jumpy synth effects before the finale kicks in, guitars and synth all backing these cool crisp vocals and pushing the track to its conclusion.
April opens with a simple drum beat, almost sound electronic at first but acting as a build up to the opening of the track. Over laid with guitars and bass this track continues the almost chilled approach of the previous track whilst maintaining that uneasy edge which the band seem to adopt. As the guitars kick in accompanied by a lead line I would challenge anyone who says they are not taken aback by the sound these guys have achieved. I’ve heard professional, and this is beyond that. The sound is so deep, so big and so moving that I found myself stopping everything and just listening, they’ve found that almost ‘Bill and Ted’ moment in music for me, the moment where the music takes over and makes everything around you look good.
As April ends and W.M.I.A.S kicks in, those electronic sounds come back and the drums once again set the scene for the track. This time though, the guitars take on a raspy edge, much heavier than before, again using vocal samples to back them up. The only way to describe the guitar line here is uneasy, there’s something about the way it progresses which is quite unsettling, almost horror movie-esque. As further vocal samples kick in, the guitars speed up, the drums take on a syncopated edge, screams fill the back ground and then as quickly as it kicks off, calm returns. 2.13 though everything once again kicks off, but in amazing fashion. The lead line comes back in backed by solid riffs and hammering drums, again taking on that big sound all backed by a solid bass line. The track closes in a frenzy of drums and guitars, really again leaving me questioning what I’d just heard.
The final track on the bands FB page is a Demo called Come With Me If You Want To Live. Normally I don’t like to include Demos in reviews as quite often they can be misrepresentative of the bands current state. In this case though, the drums kick in taking on a syncopated approach, the guitars are layered to give depth, the synth is there once again to back everything up, the bass line is easy to pick out (which I love as it so often gets lost in the mix) and you’re treated to a sample of what this band do. Adding extra depth with some piano, this track again adopts that beautiful uneasiness which others did, although this time also giving the sense of building up into something more.
In all, I’ve truly been taken aback by these guys, this is some seriously accomplished music here. I was almost put off by the electronic sounds at first but give them a chance and you’ll soon realise that these guys are producing music which everyone needs to hear as it tells a story. There’s no story set in stone for each track, you make your own as you hear it. Whether these tracks make you remember things, plan things or simply see the world in a new way, it’s quite a feat to manage something like that through the power of music, and these guys have done it in style.
To find out more about Seas Of Furious Lizards, check out their Facebook page HERE.
