Singles

Dance Lazarus Dance - Lies EP

Scott Telfer 07/10/2008

Rating: 4/5

Over the past two years or so, Glasgow-based Dance Lazarus Dance (don't panic, the name pre-dates the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' album) have collected plenty of admirers - most notably in Steve Lamacq - and have managed to maintain a relatively high level of interest from the local scene by not falling into the usual trap of playing week in week out in whatever damp-ridden cellar that some chancer has had the guile to hang a 4 point socket in and call a music venue.

The release of the long awaited Lies EP sees the band moving away from an earlier sound that saw them drawing (unwanted?) comparisons to bands like The Automatic to a slightly more eclectic indie-dance stance which draws more on influences such as Les Savy Fav and Q And Not U. That's not to say that the pop sensibilities have gone though. From the adrenaline packed chanting that kicks off 'Team Boombox' (good to see that they haven't changed their policy on song titles) to the electro and house overtones of 'Take that Jesus' all of the songs here are almost carelessly hook strewn. And when you add to this the fact that 'Faxing Me, Faxing You' has one of those choruses (you know, the ones that end up lingering in your mind like the scent of that girl you met the night before last) it's a joyfully infectious 15 minutes of music. Lyrically things are a bit more throwaway, but, to make the obvious defence, it's not as if you're going to be putting this band on for some whisky soaked 4am introspection.

It could be argued that there's not a great deal of variety in the songwriting here but it's clear that the band have chosen their niche and, on the evidence of this EP, pretty much nailed it.