Lorien - 'Under The Waves' (Instant Karma)
3/5
By: Matt Tomiak
In 1999, it was Travis. In 2000, it was Coldplay. And, in 2001, it was Starsailor. So, will this year's standard-bearings for tuneful melancholia be Lorien?
Well, they're certainly a cosmopolitan bunch; frontman Fabio is Italian, guitarist Einar is from Iceland, whilst drummer Carlo hails from the rock 'n' roll outpost of Weston-Super-Mare in the UK. To describe their sound, meanwhile, imagine Swedish one hit-wonder Andreas Johnson replacing Chris Martin, with his band covering Radiohead, and you're almost there.
Undeniably, Lorien have the requisite emotion in their songs - but they seem to be lacking a big chorus, or a rousing 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?'/'Yellow'/'Good Souls'-style anthem. To be fair, 'Cherrywood Eyes' and the excellent 'Milky Magic Tears' are about the closest the band get to this stage, but they don't really seem cut out for the populist sing-a-longs...
No; instead, the achingly heartfelt feeling remains largely low-key throughout this listen. Still, that never harmed the likes of Turin Brakes or Elbow - and they haven't done too badly for themselves, have they..? Watch Lorien grow, because even more special things may still yet spawn from their range of downbeat, angelic blues.
Artists in this article: Lorien
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