Edmonton Band “Look Away” classify themselves as “dark punk” which is definitely the truth if one stopped there. On their 2016 EP “Lashburn” the sound shatters every genre they drift by with their own wide, bendier, punchier version of what might have inspired them.
Lashburn sounds like a possible result of Nick Cave & The Velvet Underground getting together to create an opera. The album works best listened to as a whole as each song leads the band to its next sonic plateau.
With Lashburn, band members Mel Mac, Maria Martire, Erica Taylor, Jenna Turner and Kevin Maimann offer the listener a “Meditation” into the deep recesses of their musical souls. Not since I first heard Ann Calvi have I felt the grip of darkness move me like Look Away do. The experimental feel of the music might have gotten old quick if not for the skill of these musicians. When control and chaos are combined in tracks ‘At the End’ or ‘On the Run’ the results are exhilarating if not always perfect. For those looking for perfect production, move along. This album is for people who love music that pushes boundaries and changes minds.
‘At the End’ the ironically named opening track is a ‘distressed cinematic sound scape’ in the vein of all things Kubrick or Paul Thomas Anderson. A kaleidoscope of sound twists and winds itself into chaos then melody then back to chaos. Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Patti Smith are not a part of the collaboration but they could have been. This is all Look Away however and they have created a lot of magic here.
Much of ’Lashburn’ seems more or less like a catalogue of ideas. Like a master scrapbooker’s final product, nothing appears out of place on ‘Lashburn’. Though the guitar section may or may not bear anything in common with the rhythmic idea at any point, Lashburn weaves them together as if the connection was always there. So what might have just seemed dark and ominous becomes something much more layered and nondescript when all the parts come together.
When listening to a track like ‘Locked and Crooked’ it might move some to weep, others to sway and others to meditate. Look Away’s style is poetic enough to pay close attention to the lyricism but simple enough that one might find a new mantra to repeat. And then again, “It Doesn’t Matter” what listeners find within. Lashburn sounds a lot like “Lashburn” as far as they are concerned and they’re going to play what and however the heck they want. And in the end there is “Get to you” perhaps the very best of what the Look Away Ep has to offer. So what’s next?
-- Val Christopher
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!
Listen Now
On Capital City Records!