PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
@planetmosh reviews See Behind The Beam EP by .@TheDarkLanes
The Dark Lanes have been cutting their teeth around the pubs and clubs of Dublin for a while now, bringing their own unique blend of craic and tunes to all who would listen. As a natural progression to that they’ve put upon themselves to unleash their debut EP ‘See Behind The Beam’ for public consumption.
On Listening to the first track ‘Caught in Headlights’ you are immediately hit with a wall of overdriven guitar, bass and drums before Kevin drops the song into its main driving guitar riff. With the enormity of the sound it was easy to forget that this is band consisting of just 3 members.
This is a trait in evidence through all 5 songs on the EP, even the mid-tempo’d ‘Unsaid’ has a sound that belies the minimalistic number of band members. It also features a nice little bass solo from Deborah before the tempo speeds up for the track closing.
There can be no doubting Kevin can write some catchy guitar hooks and solos, and again all five tracks bear witness to that fact. Perhaps none more-so than ‘Shock’ which features a main riff that sounds like it’s been ripped from the musical ether somewhere between Rage Against the Machine and Coheed & Cambria.
EP closer ‘Glitter’ has more of a progressive rock kind of feel to it with varying tempos & various solos and again more catchy guitar hooks, but for me, stand out tune on this particular EP is ‘The Rocker’. This track is just sounds big, raucous, has attitude and swagger a-plenty and features vocal styling’s that remind me of Zach de la Rocha & Phil Lynott, and on paper that sounds like it shouldn’t work at all, but on this occasion, it really does.
There is no doubting all three band members have exceptional chops on their chosen instruments, and while I’ve already mentioned the riffs and hooks of Kevin’s guitar work, it is given real substance by the exemplary bass and drums of Deborah and Josh. ‘See Behind the Beam’ is definitely a strong, well produced debut EP, but while musicianship is excellent, I feel the vocals are somewhat weaker than the songs & lyrics deserve.
Overall this is a battery of well written, raw and energetic tunes, they have a modern day grunginess that doesn’t sound tired or dated, but rather that takes everything you’ve heard before, shakes it up and gives it a twist of Rock N Roll that brings it right into the 21st century.
Track Listing:
1. Caught In Headlights
2. The Rocker
3. Unsaid
4. Shock
5. Glitter
Band Lineup:
Deborah – Bass, Vocals
Josh – Drums
Kevin – Guitar, Vocals
Band Links:
https://www.facebook.com/TDLmusic
https://twitter.com/thedarklanes
