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Band: Last July
Album title: A True Story Of A Lie
Release date: 27 July 2012
Label: Self-Released
Tracklisting:
01. Autumn
02. A True Story Of A Lie
03. Scars
04. Glamorous Parasite
05. Alone Afraid
06. Steal You Away
07. Going Home
08. Restless
09. Muses
10. Eyes
11. Deadfall
12. Steal You Away (Piano Version)
Last July is an UK based band formed in 2008 with experienced members who were all involved in other musical activities before, better known are Rome Burns, Fruit Tree, Slamm and All Living Fear. The album in question is their debut and shows a lot of individual qualities, as ability to perform very well many of different genres that are blended together on this album.
Last July are flowing deeply into dark wave sounds, but there are present many heavy rock based guitar riffs, electro pop oriented vibes, industrial beats and nice synth driven melodies. From the danceable opener "Autumn" on we notice an impressive synth work, but, although being amazing is sometimes even too much fronted. I would prefer the guitar sound to play more evident role here. The guitar solo on album title song "A True Story Of A Lie" and heavy guitar riffs on "Deadfall" are an example. The very soul of the band must be Alix and her distinctive vocal performance. Mostly this kind of raspy, but still emotive vocals work well, they give some kind of interesting atmosphere to those compositions, just listen to the beginning of "Glamorous Parasite" or to amazing sensuous ballad "Restless", not to mention the piano version of "Steal You Away". Unfortunately there are some songs where this kind of vocals don't go that well together with music or it could be performed better, like on "Scars", "Going Home", which is saved by flute sound, or on still interesting "Alone Afraid". Drums and bass are all programmed and the beats give some retro pop feeling. Some piano insertions add warmth and occasionally spacey synths a certain modern feel. There is always present special dark, gothic and sinister sense on most of the songs, just listen to marvellous "Eyes". Almost every song has hidden surprises, waiting to be discovered. Lyrical side of this album is another thing that gives good points to this album, dealing with dark, romantic and wordly sorrowful matters. Production and mastering are good, although the vocal lines and guitar could be done better. Also the final mix has some flaws. A True Story Of A Lie needs a lot of spins to reveal all that is hidden. Though this is not a groundbreaking album, still offers some enjoyable tunes.
A True Story Of A Lie is a good debut album and even some before mentioned lapses don't ruin the overall perception. I must say that this is not an album that I would play so often, but let's wait, as those musicians are certainly capable of producing great stuff in the future, now even with a recent acquisition of a bass player and a record deal in their pockets.
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 7/10
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