The mellow swagger of that guitar part loops around the listener in a calming manner, and the satisfying resolve of being a Happy Mess leaves a powerful feeling that everything will be alright. What more could you ask for?
Soft Rock
Trickling into the room with the blues-rock swagger of a driving classic, building up brilliantly, and utilising contrast to offer a hook that hits with superb impact, the band allow subtlety & passion to intertwine. The result is an authentically heartfelt & intimate portrayal of deeply human emotion.
You’d be forgiven for wondering if this wasn’t a slept on driving ballad from a simpler decade. The intimacy and honesty of the video reflects a similarly nostalgic direction – and it reinforces the natural affection and longing of the writing in a fitting manner.
The band’s leading vocalist offers a humble yet passionate delivery that lets these easy rhymes kick in with familiarity and intrigue alike; thus, the lyrics sink in quickly, the scene is set, and the mind wanders as prompted.
“Expect that some people may hate what you’re doing, but do it anyway! Criticism is inevitable and some people allow the opinions of others to destroy them.”
Following the release of their superb new single Cilice, we were blessed with the chance to interview new alt rock outfit Local Man Dies to find out more about the music, the song, and their hopes for the future. Here’s the conversation in full. * * * Hi guys, thanks for the interview! For those … Continued
Stunning harmonies meet with beautifully captivating poetic imagery and a powerfully structured soundscape, to bring back the emotive alt-rock songwriting and depth of a simpler time for this debut from Local Man Dies. More than this in fact, Cilice is a mighty song for so many reasons . Where the initial delicacy is so pristine … Continued
Leo Harmonay writes and performs because it’s simply a part of who he is – you can hear this, and you can feel it, throughout Naked Rivers and indeed throughout all of his music to date. Always an artist worthy of a listener’s trust.
The Other Side Of Love showcases a distinct set of qualities that appeal on a deep and addictive level. The opening guitar delicacy, the gentle rasp and increasing passion of the leading voice, the poetic and thoughtful lyrics, the rising intensity, the eventual raw rock energy; all of this works gorgeously within.
This is, ultimately, a powerful and a quite stunning piece of writing and performance, that builds up and falls away gorgeously. The rest of the album appeals all the more so for the purity and realness offered up here.
Lonely builds and bubbles up in a perfectly emotional manner, right the way through until its ultimate, beautifully chaotic breaking point. A powerful and timeless track that brings together unquestionable purity and pain from the depths of the human experience.
It’s a pleasure to hear music like this make a come back, it feels perfectly well suited to some reflective moment of cinema or TV drama, and yet it works equally well as the comforting embrace music fans often need on the long drive home.