Album Review: The Laurels - Plains

The Laurels have long been loved locally as one of the finest live acts in town. Unabashedly loud, too often a night witnessing the band has resulted in tinnitus for the audience. On record they are joyously melodic, careening in and out in waves of noise. The production of Plains is gloriously crisp but beneath it lies the grit of their live performances.

They wear their influences on their collective sleeve, and in that blissful little space where shoegaze, noise and psych meet, therein reside The Laurels. Opener Tidal Wave is a fine example, the refrain of which will be impossibly embedded into every listener's head. Almost oxymoronically, despite the density of these songs that seem to be built of solid noises layered atop one another, there's a spaciousness to songs like Changing The Timeline. Everything falls into place perfectly, verses holding off on a grinding guitar riff to allow Luke O'Farrell's vocals to wash over before blending back into the instruments.

Plains develops briskly, its aggression tenuously balanced out with softer songs like the sinister melancholia of This City Is Coming Down. The endless melody peaks on One Step Forward (Two Steps Back), and here it's not just the instrumental dexterity of The Laurels that is hypnotically addictive. Their voices perfectly complement one another. Where O'Farrell takes the lead, guitarist Piers Cornelius can be heard in the background, filling the gaps and bringing depth to songs that will be listened to repeatedly, constantly unveiling themselves upon each play.

It took approximately six years, but The Laurels have crafted a flawless debut record with Plains.