Lenola-Sharks And Flames-2CD-FLAC-2003-401

     Artist......: Lenola
     Album.......: Sharks & Flames
     Source......: CD
     Label.......: Homesleep
     Genre.......: Indie
     Tracks......: 20
     Bitrate.....: 942 kbps avg
     Playtime....: 01:21:47  (578.MB)
     Rls date....: 2021-10-01
     Store date..: 2003-02-15
     Encoder.....: FLAC 1.3.1
     Url.........: http://www.lenola.bandcamp.com/
     Disc 1 / 2
     --------
     01 Eternal                                                          3:40
     02 Standing Still                                                   4:00
     03 Gentleman Overboard                                              3:46
     04 Never Ends                                                       3:41
     05 Fake Vegetables                                                  3:03
     06 Just As It Appears                                               4:38
     07 Poor Little Boy                                                  3:31
     08 Speed Of Light                                                   4:33
     09 Water On The Floor                                               3:08
     10 Impossible                                                       6:55
     Disc 2 / 2
     --------
     01 Traffic Lights                                                   5:32
     02 Message Received                                                 2:45
     03 Sudden Stop                                                      4:31
     04 Wipe My Mouth                                                    4:00
     05 Sharp Shoot                                                      3:43
     06 As Far As I Can Throw You                                        3:05
     07 On Canvas                                                        4:49
     08 Sleeping Dogs                                                    4:02
     09 Shallow And Often                                                3:06
     10 All You Hide                                                     5:19
     For their fifth full-length, Philadelphia trio (now expanded to a
     five-piece) Lenola have a European release via Italy's Homesleep label. All
     but a half dozen of this double album's twenty songs were penned by founder
     Jay Laughlin, the rest by or co-written with Sean Byrne (Mazarin, Twin
     Atlas), engineer and third core member Dave Grubb. In the studio the
     Laughlin/Byrne axis arrange and perform the music, Grubb only picking up a
     guitar or stepping behind keyboards or a mic when the band take the stage,
     whereby they are joined by newest recruits Josh Brown (bass) and Jeff
     Scioli (keyboards, guitar). It's a curious arrangement but a seemingly
     successful one, with 'Sharks & Flames' providing ample evidence of that.
     From a simplistic acoustic base, Lenola add layers of sound and what can
     best be described as a psychedelic sheen to their material, giving it a
     sense of timelessness that's tough to pin down. There are nods to the past
     yet enough contemporary characteristics to cut short any retro accusations.
     Laughlin's voice may resemble that of Doug Martsch, but Lenola these days
     seem to have moved away from piercing guitar licks in favour of a more
     buoyant aesthetic, whilst still taking the odd foray into the land of the
     epic (see Impossible, All You Hide).
     Whether this record (or any record) needs to be a two disc set is open to
     debate, but I'd hazard a guess that a more concise single disc would have
     emphasised the quality of the best material here. Instead there is a
     tendency for songs to blur into one another and the Lenola signature sound
     is perhaps too restrictive to engage for a full twenty song listen. A
     twelve or thirteen track selection would probably have better served the
     likes of Shallow and Often (tucked away at the tail-end of the second
     disc), and fend off those Flaming Lips/Mercury Rev comparisons which dog
     the band.

2.4M	000-lenola-sharks_and_flames-2cd-flac-2003-proof.jpg
4.0K	000-lenola-sharks_and_flames-2cd-flac-2003.m3u
4.0K	000-lenola-sharks_and_flames-2cd-flac-2003.nfo
4.0K	000-lenola-sharks_and_flames-2cd-flac-2003.sfv
26M	101-lenola-eternal.flac
29M	102-lenola-standing_still.flac
28M	103-lenola-gentleman_overboard.flac
28M	104-lenola-never_ends.flac
18M	105-lenola-fake_vegetables.flac
31M	106-lenola-just_as_it_appears.flac
25M	107-lenola-poor_little_boy.flac
30M	108-lenola-speed_of_light.flac
21M	109-lenola-water_on_the_floor.flac
47M	110-lenola-impossible.flac
37M	201-lenola-traffic_lights.flac
20M	202-lenola-message_received.flac
31M	203-lenola-sudden_stop.flac
29M	204-lenola-wipe_my_mouth.flac
26M	205-lenola-sharp_shoot.flac
22M	206-lenola-as_far_as_i_can_throw_you.flac
33M	207-lenola-on_canvas.flac
25M	208-lenola-sleeping_dogs.flac
22M	209-lenola-shallow_and_often.flac
34M	210-lenola-all_you_hide.flac
555M	total