Review

As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions

28.04.2008 | Cam | 0 Comments

Genre: Indie/Ambient/Rock
For Fans Of: Chamberlain – The Dear Hunter – Minus The Bear
Favourite Songs: Songs: Stab City – Love Love Love – Ghost Of York – Milk And Honey
Running Time: 43:39
Year: 2008
Website Link: http://www.astallaslions.com
Myspace Link: http://www.myspace.com/astallaslions

Score: 86

Who would’ve thought self indulgence could be so enjoyable...

REVIEW.

As most of you would be aware of the behemoth that was the 2008 Soundwave Festival recently made its way around the country. On a whim I decided to check out the side show for the highly touted The Dear Hunter (who were amazing by the way). What I wasn’t expecting to see was As Tall As Lions belt out a note perfect rendition of the Leonard Cohen (later covered by Jeff Buckley) hit “Hallelujah”, a remarkable feat when you consider the vocal acrobatics required to pull off such a song.

Having been relegated to the import only sections of record stores for far too long the kind folk over at Taperjean have taken matters into their own hands and given the New York based As Tall As Lions a local release for their self titled album, complete with bonus live footage for those of you who weren’t lucky enough to catch the band on their last couple of Australian visits.

If you’re a fan of instantly accessible pop songs then As Tall As Lions might be a bit much for you, however their arrangements and lush instrumentation are nothing short of captivating if you give them a chance.

“Stab City” is a gentle introduction to the record, one that shows vocalist Dan Nigro in full flight as his haunting melodies combine with everything from sparse piano parts to a horn section in the song’s chorus. Compared to the almost jazzy swagger of the previous track, “Song For Luna” is a bit more direct and therefore a little easier to digest, while “A Break A Pause” is a stripped back tune (from a musical point of view) that lets main man Dan take the lead.

My favourite song of the record is “Love Love Love (Love, Love), a bass heavy number that has the groove and presence of something you’d expect to hear in a Las Vegas bar. Couple this with the strongest chorus the band has penned to date and it’s no wonder that this track is a standout. The upbeat temp of “Ghost Of York” brings As Tall As Lions’ pop elements to the forefront of their sound and yet again they have another climatic chorus to back up the more subtle elements of the song.

“Milk And Honey” starts of as a quiet, guitar driven ballad and not much really changes over the course of its four minutes, yet for some reason ATAL are successfully able to hold my attention, something that many bands simply aren’t capable of when attempting this kind of song writing. The term heavy is most definitely not applicable when describing any of the songs on display here, however “Be Here Now” is definitely the most traditional sounding song on the album, in the sense that it relies on a straight up rock riff to power its chorus.

On its own the acoustic balladry of “I’m Kicking Myself” is a decent song but when it’s compared to the remainder of the material on offer it doesn’t stand up, while “Where Do I Stand” has a serious Sigur Ros vibe to it and finally “Maybe I’m Just Tired” brings the album to a powerful close.

CONCLUSION.

This is another fantastic release from the Taperjean homestead and is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys something that’s on the lighter side of the musical spectrum.