Tuesday 26 January 2010

Black Soul Strangers - Lies Single Review (2010)

Another single review for AltSounds.

From Dublin but now based in London, the Irish quartet of Gorey, O’Mahony, Wyer and O’Brien are edgy guitar band Black Soul Strangers. They are like that sexy boy band it’s ok to like because they play their own intruments and write their own songs. Lies is the band’s debut single, a drum and guitar driven modern mood-fest of a love song.

The single has both the ‘radio edit’ and ‘original version’, of which the latter is thirty one seconds longer. Why the need for two cuts of the same song is anyone’s guess as the second edit, at just about spot on three minutes, is perfectly acceptable, and less polished - a good thing in this case. The song pounds along with lead singer Gorey in majestic control, his straight no-nonsense vocal directing the melody. Well structured and focused, things only go astray when “Who let the kids outside?” announces a sudden change. But we are soon back on track.

Lies is unlikely to move mountains but for Black Soul Strangers it’s a good start; a solid debut to promote both image and sound. Hopefully this is a sign of more to come as the band will certainly need better stronger songs for an attention grabbing debut album. Perhaps less restraint within a self-imposed strict formula and more creativity will ensure these boys won’t be strangers for long (sorry).
-- CS (for AltSounds)

No comments: