Album review by Lucas Bell
L.S. Dunes are likely the best supergroup of recent memory, you probably haven’t heard of yet. Birthed in the turbulence of the Covid pandemic, the band, featuring members of Circa Survive, Coheed and Cambria, My Chemical Romance, and Thursday, have just released their second record, Violet. Will Yip, a long time collaborator with Anthony Greene, who produced Past Lives for the band in 2022, returns to the fold with the anticipated followup.
The albums title came as a word that entered Frank Iero’s subconscious while mumbling scratch lyrics to a new song he was writing, a word that became the working title for that song, and a word that survived demo after demo until it finally became the name of the album—despite not appearing anywhere in the final lyrics of the title track. “It just happened,” Iero insists. “It appeared out of nowhere. That’s the thing about magic: You need to suspend disbelief. You need to surrender to it. You need to stop asking for an explanation and simply embrace it when it comes”.
SONG BREAKDOWNS
Like Magick – The album opener kicks off immediately with the solo, haunting vocals of Anthony Green. The moment the rest of the band kicks in at 44 seconds, the song immediately feels complete. A great opener.
Fatal Deluxe – In what feels like a polar shift, Polar Deluxe opens on the harsh vocals Greene is known for, with a heavier instrumental edge. This would totally be a fun track live I feel.
I Can See It Now… – This track was the point of the record where I realised the album is likely to ebb and flow between heavier and lighter moments. This track blends them perfectly and builds slowly into the 1:50 mark where it gets HEAVY.
Violet – The albums title track delivers on every front. The duality on the bridge of the lyrics “Sacrament, sacrament / Soothe yourself” moving between harsh and cleans gives me goosebumps. Definitely an album highlight
Machines – This is definitely more of a straight up rock song. A song I didn’t expect Dunes to write, but I’m so glad it is here. Speaking with Alt Press, Greene spoke on the lyrics to Machine, “I didn’t realize how careless I was being with some of the spells I was casting, lyrically, for myself.” You can hear this feels more of a song with hope, instead of despair, like some of the tracks from Past Lives.
You Deserve to be Haunted – The riffs on this one are huge. I do want to shout out drummer Tucker Rule though, because that man sounds like he’s sounding the drums of war in this song. Every hit is heavy, and groovy. Super fun track.
Holograms – This is the track on the record I feel is my favorite from an instrumental standpoint. It’s subdued without being quiet. It’s almost progressive blues rock in a way. I’m not sure how to explain it. Again, Green’s vocals over the top make this an album standout.
Paper Tigers – When this track started up, I initially thought I’d been switched to a Creed record. The intro riff is incredibly reminiscent of One Last Breath, but the moment Green’s vocals kick in, the song transforms into something more. It makes sense why this was put out as a single. This is probably the most radio friendly track on the record. I don’t mean that in any kind of disparaging way. This could be THE song that brings people into the band for the first time. And it’s perfect.
Things I Thought Would Last Forever – It’s weird to say this about a track, but I feel this is the most artistic song on the record. Nothing about it feels traditional. Bringing vocals and drums together like they do, in the opening seconds, and letting the guitars be the background noise is a bold choice that definitely pays off. Especially when it gets to the chorus.
Forgiveness – The album closes beautifully with Forgiveness. The song is again, subdued, but not quiet. Green’s vocals have been powerful the entire record. But here, they are as raw as they could be. A brilliant way to close out an incredible record.
FINAL THOUGHTS
After their huge debut record, Dunes had an unenviable task of trying to follow up with something just as good. And I think they delivered on all fronts. While Past Lives is a great record, some parts of the album just didn’t hit the way for me I hoped. Violet on the other hand, doesn’t have a single skip on the record. Every song feels like its own world. The creativity behind the band with all their other projects, coming together to birth something unlike everything else they do, shows just how great L.S. Dunes is.
Score – 8.2/10
Highlights – ‘Machines’, ‘Violet’, ‘Holograms’.
