Shapes Of Screams - LostAlone

Fancy some sing-along-rock goodness that has plenty of edge and heavyness whilst keeping a melody-based pop-sensibility? Then Derby based trio Lost Alone have an excellent new album called Shapes of Screams coming out on the 7th of April, and it has the potential to becoming quite the mover for the UK music scene as it has comfortably one of the most adventurous sounds I've heard for a while. Part Wildhearts chugging singalongs, with power-riffs and heavy breaks flying around when needed, but also part Hanoi Rocks meets Queen glam showyness and complexity. It also has moments of brazen Supergrass pop-rock out, which could all of ended up being a a mess but manages to end up being something new and quite powerful.

The two singles, Scarlet Letter Rhymes and The Bells! The Bells! give a taste of what is to come, both blending some serious metal guitars with classic rock and pop-punk touches. This is big music with some big ideas to get across, and it is a bigness that expanded on album tracks like "Hostages" (with full classical strings section) and "Breathing in the future exhaling the past" (which should come with a lighter and a stadium). There are no real bad tracks on the whole album, just a couple ("Requiem" and "Apathy") which are more subdued and straight forward than the others so seem a little out of place. Almost all the tracks have got accompaniment to them, going from layered and interwoven guitars to orchestra and sound-fx, so whilst the album sounds great I'm not sure how what it will come across when it's just the three of them.

Overall it's big, its bold, and it's fun with shout along choruses. It's got appeal to the classic rock, the heavy metal, and the pop-punk crowds so should find more of a following. And, very importantly, it's trying to do something new and does it rather well.