42
The Black Lamps
PURE M Magazine
T
Review by Sarah Swinburne
he Black Lamps are on an upward trajectory
in their musical career. Yorkshire born, the
quartet have been gigging around the UK
since 2006. They remain stoically and
stubbornly unambitious. An early reviewer once
quipped ‘They could be massive, if only they gave a
shit!’ This laid back manner is present throughout their
eponymous debut album. With a penchant for
atmospheric,
anthemic
instrumental
tracks,
intermittently interspersed with unobtrusive vocals,
The Black Lamps sound like the love child of The Cure
and The Stone Roses (perhaps with Morrissey as a stepfather).
How the four members came into being in their
current formation is very interesting. Although hailing
from different backgrounds musically and creatively
speaking, they do harbour a shared love of decidedly
early nineties style alternative post-rock; along with
some deftly subdued elements of jazz and punk. The
members of The Black Lamps are not merely cogs in a
musical machine, but rather four separate and distinct
machines speaking a common language. It makes sense
then, to examine each machine independently.
Lyndon Scarfe plays guitar and keyboards and
describes his day job as doing ‘something vaguely
tedious in IT’, (in that case he is to be commended for
the bands beautifully accessible and informative
website). Greg Firth, the bassist, moonlights as an
engineer and singles out bands such as Sigur Ros and
Mogwai as chief influences.
It seems the dreamy, shimmering soundscapes are his
inspiration, particularly in songs like ‘Scissors, Paper,
Stone’ (incidentally their new single). Finally, Dean
Ormston on drums has had noted success as a graphic
artist for DC Comics. His energetic percussive style,
frequently interspersed with military snare is oddly
suited to a more painterly and aesthetically grounded
sound: a remarkable feat for a drummer.
Liam Stewart, guitarist and singer, runs a t-shirt
company when he’s not playing music. He has also
released two solo albums. Stewarts love of singersongwriters is evident throughout the album. Even in
sparsely worded songs, the melodic cadences and
rhythmic syntax seem to be in keeping with lyrical
timing, giving the impression that words are being
spoken when they are not. The most apparent example
of this is in ‘Awkward’. A highlight of the album,
‘Awkward’ features a guitar riff written almost twenty
years ago. One other notable song on the album is ‘The
Smoking Party’. This track builds beautifully and could
easily be imagined on the soundtrack of an indie
coming-of-age film.
The Black Lamps seem to primarily dwell on the
instrumental side of things. Stewarts vocals, when
heard, is highly reminiscent of a young Ian Brown.
Although the songs have a tendency to get samey after
a while, the overall sound and ambience of the album
is so enjoyable that it’s easily forgiven.
If there is such a thing as responsible hedonism or
youthful maturity, the Black Lamps are precisely that.
For all their outspoken lack of ambition or desire for
commercial success, if they continue producing albums
of such quality as this one, they might not have a
choice.