Album Review: As Tall As Lions - 'As Tall As Lions'

As most of you would be aware

of the behemoth that was the 2008 Soundwave Festival recently made its

way around the country. On a whim I decided to check out the side show

for the highly touted The Dear Hunter (who were amazing by the

way). What I wasn’t expecting to see was As Tall As Lions belt

out a note perfect rendition of the Leonard Cohen (later covered

by Jeff Buckley) hit “Hallelujah”, a remarkable feat when you consider

the vocal acrobatics required to pull off such a song. 

Having been relegated to the import

only sections of record stores for far too long the kind folk over at Taperjean have taken matters into their own hands and given the

New York based As Tall As Lions a local release for their self

titled album, complete with bonus live footage for those of you who

weren’t lucky enough to catch the band on their last couple of Australian

visits. 

If you’re a fan of instantly

accessible pop songs then As Tall As Lions might be a bit much for you, however their arrangements and lush instrumentation

are nothing short of captivating if you give them a chance.  

“Stab City” is a gentle introduction

to the record, one that shows vocalist Dan Nigro in full flight as his haunting melodies combine with everything from

sparse piano parts to a horn section in the song’s chorus. Compared

to the almost jazzy swagger of the previous track, “Song For Luna”

is a bit more direct and therefore a little easier to digest, while

“A Break A Pause” is a stripped back tune (from a musical point

of view) that lets main man Dan take the lead. 

My favourite song of the record

is “Love Love Love (Love, Love), a bass heavy number that has the

groove and presence of something you’d expect to hear in a Las Vegas

bar. Couple this with the strongest chorus the band has penned to date

and it’s no wonder that this track is a standout. The upbeat temp

of “Ghost Of York” brings As Tall As Lions’ pop elements

to the forefront of their sound and yet again they have another climatic

chorus to back up the more subtle elements of the song.  

“Milk And Honey” starts of

as a quiet, guitar driven ballad and not much really changes over the

course of its four minutes, yet for some reason ATAL are successfully

able to hold my attention, something that many bands simply aren’t

capable of when attempting this kind of song writing. The term heavy

is most definitely not applicable when describing any of the songs on

display here, however “Be Here Now” is definitely the most traditional

sounding song on the album, in the sense that it relies on a straight

up rock riff to power its chorus. 

This is another fantastic release

from the Taperjean homestead and is highly recommended for anyone

who enjoys something that’s on the lighter side of the musical spectrum.

1. Stab City
2. Song For Luna
3. A Break A Pause
4. Love, Love, Love (Love,

   Love)

5. Ghost Of York
6. Milk And Honey
7. Be Here Now
8. I’m Kicking Myself