“Somebody tell me how deep I gotta dig before I can be laid to rest.”
I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a sucker for radio rock. If your band has a few well-crafted earworm-y choruses up those pesky sleeves, I’ll more than likely find some enjoyment in it. That said, unless there’s something truly new going on, I feel this brand of rock has something of a quality ceiling. I touched on this briefly in my review of the recent Asking Alexandria record, in which I awarded the record the title of “about as good as this brand of hard rock gets”, but conceded it was still only worth around a 7.5/10. That leads up to Led By Lanterns, a group that, until recently, were all but absent from my radar. This was until I heard recent single “Good Enough”, featuring the fantastic Mercedes Arn-Horn, and it immediately caught my ear. Its stripped back, serene nature, partnered with some truly stellar vocal performances (which I’ll touch more on later) really grabbed me. So, diving into the full record following that, how does the rest of the album stack up compared to that ear-catching single.
Unlike how that single presented, the album actually seems to draw more from the worlds of post-grunge, post-hardcore than I previously anticipated, given the more pop rock feel of that single. At times feeling like pop rocks answer to Breaking Benjamin instrumentally, mixed with a bit of Slaves and Siamese, Paralysis’ first few tracks open up the record relatively strong. Choppy guitar riffs, soaring vocals and massive choruses line the experience of these opening numbers, and the record as a whole, and while there is a tad of variation later on in Paralysis, these opening tracks set a fairly decent precedent of what to expect across the album – both to its credit, and its detriment.
Occasional gritty moments, like the vocal feature from Trash Boat’s Tobi Duncan on opener “Alive”, or the unexpected breakdown of “Criminal” serve to flesh out and expand the sound of the record, but through the album’s first half, and particularly by the end, a sense of familiarity starts to set in. This isn’t to say there’s anything across Paralysis that is particularly bad, but at times it does feel like an admittedly inoffensive foray into the world of riffy pop rock.
That said, even among the tracks I’m less enthused with, there are still some great elements holding Paralysis up. Namely, vocalist Shaun Hill excels and stands out across almost all of Paralysis. Honing in on infectious pop-esque vocal runs and soaring choruses, Hill props up even the relatively weaker tracks here with some of the strongest clean vocals in the UK scene. That said, I do wish that the sparingly used screamed and yelled vocals (most prevalent on standout track “Catacombs”) reared their heads more, as they do wonders for providing contrast in the few songs they appear.
Jumping far later into the record, previously discussed single & album closer “Good Enough” featuring Softcult’s Mercedes Arn-Horn closes the album out with a much-needed change of pace. Standing as potentially the strongest cut on the record, the track’s more stripped-back feel, led by light keys, percussion and ambience in its first half lend to this sense of serenity. Arn-Horn is a standout too, with her performance, as well as the interplay between her voice and Hill’s being the biggest highlight across all of Paralysis for me. The track’s explosion in its back half into the more typical rock sound of the record is actually welcome, too, as I feel the suspense built in its opening half makes the impact of that heavier sound feel far more earned and effective.
Overall, Paralysis is decently strong foray into the world of pop rock, post-grunge and post-hardcore. While the fairly inoffensive style and structure of many tracks here leads to a listening experience that can start to feel all-too-familiar by the album’s end, there are enough killer choruses, vocal performances and fun riffs here to prop up even the more relatively weak tracks here. To truly excel, I believe Led By Lanterns need to further expand their sound in new directions, as the few tracks that venture beyond the typical rock sound and structure here stand as easily the strongest cuts across Paralysis. That being said, there’s enough quality radio rock bangers among other, more creative things on Paralysis for most people to find something to love here, and I certainly enjoyed my time with it. Paralysis is out tomorrow via self-release, and you can pre-order the record here.
6.5/10