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letlive
"The Blackest Beautiful" (Epitaph;
2013)
Reviewed by Jeff Rogers
letlive are a post-hardcore band from Los Angeles,
California. I'm not sure what labels mean any more -- I guess it's the type of
music they play. Labels aside, let me throw some adjectives your way instead:
heavy, melodic, quick and unique. I like the lead singer's approach to singing;
he's quick with his lyrics, he screams to get his point across and speaks in a
gritted teeth tone before he explodes. Jason Aalon Alexander Butler has a really
good voice. His range depends on the songs -- sometimes he's screaming, other
times he's singing. There are some overdubs with his voice so there's usually a
lot going on vocally during a song.
The guitar punches through each song. There aren't any memorable riffs to speak
of but, when Jean Francisco Nascimento releases his quick slap riffs you'll know
it. He also does a lot picking which gives a lot of structure to the songs. Jean
doesn't have any solos but he's got such a cool style of playing that he lets
other parts of the guitar talk for him instead. The bass is great on this disc
as well. There are a lot of mini bass solos and Ryan Jay Johnson plays that four
string apocalypse like a master. The drums go in line with the bass and guitar
when letlive lays down a nasty bridge. Lionel Robinson took over stick smashing
duties from Anthony Rivera and you'll need to hear the disc a couple of times to
listen to all the time changes taking place.
A lot of this disc is experimental in a way. One track will be straight forward
and the next might be a mesh of Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine. It's
definitely a very unique band which is why I said that labels don't mean that
much when you can't pinpoint a sound. I'll just say that they've got a very
"scratch your head" type of sound. This is their third disc, the first two
didn't chart but "The Blackest Beautiful" should take care of that after you
give it a listen.
There are eleven tracks on this disc and that's plenty of
music to absorb and then juice out on your second go around.
letlive: Jason Aalon Alexander Butler - lead vocals; Ryan Jay Johnson - bass
guitar, backing vocals; Jean Francisco Nascimento - guitar; Jeff Sahyoun -
guitar, backing vocals.
For more information check out these sites -
http://thisisletlive.com
and
http://www.facebook.com/theletlive
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2013 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised:
18 Mar 2024 13:23:52 -0500.
