Halfway through the opening song on Lurch & Chief’s Breathe EP, I had to eject the CD from my computer to check I hadn’t put the wrong CD in. That’s not to say that the song Echo is not a brilliant exercise in neo-grunge, but I had to make sure it wasn’t an unknown Alvvays or Warpaint album. It’s clear Lurch & Chief’s six members are now all working from the same page. As indicated by the welcome sonic misdirection of Echo, female vocalist Lilibeth Hall has taken the roll of lead singer from male vocalist Hayden Somerville on three of the EP’s five songs.
The first single released from the album is the highly accessible Fading Out. It captures the same radness of Sons & Daughters, with dueling male/female vocals placed over the top of a driving Celtic punk rhythm. Hall’s revelation as lead vocalist has not resulted in a lessening of Somerville presence on the record. The song that his slightly nasal intonation and brooding lyrics really comes to the fore is Reasonable Man, the yearning and hunger communicated by Somerville is stirring. As with all the tracks on this album, Anderson and Trevisan’s slightly post-punk guitar tweaking perfectly suit the mood created by the vocals.
It’s deeply satisfying to hear a local band lift their songwriting and production value to that of an international standard.
BY DAN WATT
