Releasing their debut album yesterday was resounding 3 piece Blaenavon. That’s Your Lot is an album they have been piecing together over the past 5 years. A time period they have condensed into 57 minutes and into 12 songs. Read more about it below.
Photo by Scott Witt
Opening the album with nearly 5 minutes of Take Care. One thing to be noted, Blaenavon are not ones to keep their songs short and snappy, each song is several minutes of exploration. Welcoming the album with a breezy, dream like intro that bleeds into lyrics dripping with emotional sentiment and a possible heart break. The song rises and dips eventually into loud guitars, racing drums and punching vocal and instrumental parallel. Its an excelled way to introduce That’s Your Lot. The proceeding three songs are some that will be very familiar to Blaenavon fans, Lets Pray, Orthodox Man and My Bark is Your Bite. Lets Pray is a quick, hip swaying transcending number. Although the lyrics portray a slightly twisted tale, the dancing melody and unfussy guitars make you feel otherwise. Orthodox Man quickly became a fan favourite after its release, a song bursting with harmonies and a spiralling tune. It could be said My Bark is Your Bite takes the tone down a notch, the darker tones not masked by a light instrumental.
The next track Lonely Side‘s sound is reflective of that of Orthodox man, guitar fuelled with a vocal focus. Everything about this song is soft and almost quiet. A calm track placed within this album’s centre. Yet another softer piece is Let Me See What Happens Next. A short piano tune paired with only vocals that flow together almost as one. Not an incredible amount happens throughout the song, however an abrupt imperfect cadence to end the song allows for a surprise. Another single follows, Alice Come Home. The song seems to be split into a series of section, each contrasting. Beginning with an easy high vocal and simple instruments which then explodes into a ferocious and booming pace. The contrasts dip in and out and finishes with an instrumental flourish.
Ode To Joe begins with a creeping almost sinister piano tune which falls away into the usual Blaenavon noise. Both instrumental and vocal melody is paired throughout. There is a likelihood to wander and become lost within this 6 minute piece, it’s an intriguing difference from the rest of That’s Your Lot. I Will Be The World is another tune fans will find familiar. Carrying on the common element of paired melodies and contrasting sections. Next comes Prague ’99. The exact same but with a touch of less pace than the original Prague. The instrumental is beaten and is a constant state of change throughout. The penultimate song Swans is nearly an 8 minute wonder. The soft guitar throughout is mesmeric and calming. Yet another piece of music to get lost in. The song is almost a slow crescendo, until the song ends as it began.
The final song, tying the album together is title track That’s Your Lot. It’s a song sticking to the recurring themes and possess that similarity. The song builds up from a soft glow to a crashing chorus. Ending the album as softly as it was welcomed. Overall, That’s Your Lot is intriguing and proud debut from Blaenavon. The similarity and contrasting theme occurs throughout. However, the middle ground between calming quiet and ferociously loud is never quite found but in no way does that retract from this album’s wonder. You can listen to That’s Your Lot below.
Lauren Patterson @ Club Decode 2017
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