Review by Peter Coates – www.facebook.com/InsideEdgePhotography
THE LOST SEARCH PARTY
EP – AN INVITATION TO….
Released – May 28th 2021
In keeping with so many bands over the last year thanks to COVID-19, Kent rock band The Lost Search Party have had a tricky time recording and preparing their self-financed debut EP ready for release. As their social media post says it’s been a case of “5 songs, 4 recording studios, 3 national lockdowns, 2 bass players to produce 1 EP! After this lengthy preparation, it’s now here. I picked up on the first single, Getaway last week and was immediately attracted to the catchy hook-laden guitars, and requested a copy of the EP to review.
An Invitation To…. is a quality collection of five songs, three of which have been previous single releases) that will appeal to the ever-growing audience for music that harks back to the traditional rock and metal of the 1980’s, but that has been brought smack up to date, full of energy, melody and some real talent in delivering a hugely commercial set. This is a truly independent release – the band all have day-jobs, have no record company backing, no PR, and the lockdown video for Getaway is a COVID-19 triumph, with guitarist Luke Austin in the kitchen, and drummer Shane Brown appearing to be considerate of the neighbours in the gentle treatment of his kit!
The EP opens with a guitar, acapella voice and drum beat, and then Oh My Lord cranks up with a funked-up riff and shuffling drum-beat that powers along under the fast-paced vocals – a bit of Electric Boys mixed with Rival Sons. I love the way the tempo shifts mid-song and guitar and drums smash out a new riff that leads into the fuzz-tone solo, before we dive back into the song proper for a couple more choruses and a lead break to close. Evil Girl reinforces the impression that The Lost Search Party are very much a guitar-driven beast, with a super-tight backing from bassist Joe Kent and Shane Brown on the kit.
BackSeat Lover blasts out of the speakers and is a rabble-rousing track that sees Luke deliver a quality riff, some dextrous lead breaks, and a tasty solo, before a discordant middle-eight, and the track again sees Nick’s voice really push his own limits – which gives the band much of its character. The drum sound on this is huge, and backed up by the echoing crowd-shouted backing vocals which intersperse the verses.
The most recent single release, and aforementioned video Getaway, has a superbly harmonic dual-guitar riff, great harmony vocals, a throaty multi-layered lead vocal delivery from the talented Nick Kent, and a ripper of a solo from Austin! The stripped-back mid-section is atmospheric and fits well into the structure before roaring back into the chorus through to the close. I am really starting to love this song, and this should get the band onto more commercial radio!
The EP closes with the epic 8-minute ballad River Runs Dry which shows the band in a very different mode with delicate acoustic guitar and piano, and a much more restrained and clean voice, that does give a little nod back to Led Zep as an influence, and after 4 ½ minutes the track picks up pace and volume as the band kicks into top gear – this has a true classic rock vibe to it, with no apology for wearing a bunch of old-school acts on their sleeve, and Luke Austin absolutely shreds his way through the final 3 minutes of the song, before the piano outro fades us out. This last track may not be the most original on the EP, but is a beautiful classic rock ballad nonetheless, and provides an excellent sense of closure to the EP.
25 minutes of quality rock music for a fiver is both great value, but also supports a truly independent band trying to make the best of a truly dreadful year when they expected to be out touring their backsides off to support this release, and provide the much-needed funding for a hoped-for album down the track. So do yourselves and The Lost Search Party a favour and order one of the 500 CD copies printed (well I bought one so there are no more than 499 left in the store).
Useful Links:
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/TheLostSearchParty/
EP Order: https://thelostsearchparty.bigcartel.com/products
