Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
In the face of anguish and turmoil, we can often be found to rise ourselves up to the person we wish to be seen by others as. It may be a face, it could be a mask, but the upheaval will bring out the best in us, to be seen Heaving the rock as if we are preparing it for Sisyphus to roll up a hill with grunts and muscles strains, is a badge of honour…
…yet it shouldn’t be that way, we should shine despite the adversity, we should be able to look life in the eye and say that this is what we have, what we can achieve even without a sense of scaring on our soul, without feeling lost and occasionally losing sight of what our true objective is.
For Lucy Kruger And The Lost Boys, Heaving is born out of that adversity we have collectively endured, the mood we have stared at in the dark, that we have clothed ourselves in, dressed on a whim as, and allowed ourselves to be dictated by, and they smash it completely out of the park with an album of deep sounding philosophy and immense drive in ambient thought.
Across tracks such as the opener Auditorium, Howl, and Stereoscope, the subtly of expression which crowns Burning Building, Tender and the finale of Undress, Lucy Kruger, Liú Mottes, Jean-Louise Parker, and Martin Perret inhabit a time of underground feeling, art school radio brilliance, and a shining example of what can be fuelled by rubbing against the perceived plain that others set out for those they believe they can manipulate. This is the anger with polish, this is the declaration of independent style to which so many have forgotten exists.
The Berlin-based band storm into the heart of the matter with a growl and war paint deeply etched on their hearts, and yet they also offer conciliation, they offer an escape, an unexpected novel surrounded by the intolerant magazines on show, they stand out because they have argued the right to do so, and they have produced an album which is dynamic, real, and full of venom in appropriate measure.
An album that claws at the faces of the manipulators and nay sayers, Heaving is a class act in which to fight the urge to be cowed by the beige wearers.
Lucy Kruger And The Lost Boys release Heaving via Unique Records on April 7th.
Ian D. Hall