The Obelisk Radio Add of the Week: Lord Summerisle, Demo
A bit of continuity never hurt anyone. You might remember last week’s Radio Add of the Week was by a newcomer Spanish band called Llord. You might not. Well, as it turns out, guitarist/vocalist David and drummer Michael Kelly from that outfit have another new band, this one called named Lord Summerisle after Christopher Lee‘s character in The Wicker Man. That’s a pretty good start. Their debut demo is, like Llord‘s, only three tracks, but it still gives an idea of where the band is coming from, blending progressive technicality and noodling with stretches of heavier grooves. Together with bassist Diego Caicedo, the trio moves away from Llord‘s primitive riff-led extremity and into more complex and effects-driven sounds, remaining instrumental while setting the course with opener “Pare Huarg,” but revealing an echoing clean-singing style from David on the spacier second cut, “1864.”
With all three songs running over six minutes long, Lord Summerisle give parts plenty of room to breathe and develop, but I wouldn’t call their demo jammy in the sense of a lot of modern Euro heavy. Rather, “1864” filters classic prog complications through modern tones, and the vocals give an airy, open feel. Where Llord‘s demo was recorded live, this one feels more layered and constructed. That continues through the last cut, “Ocellót,” though the riff and motoring tempo put it more in line with mid-’70s bruisers, there’s nonetheless a process at work in the presentation that runs deeper than “plug in and hit record.” That’s not to say Lord Summerisle sound unnatural, because they don’t, just that what the trio shows on their first outing is a personality distinct from that of the band with whom they share two-thirds of a lineup. They’ve made the demo available as a free download through Bandcamp, from whence the player below also comes:
Tags: Lord Summerisle, Spain, Unsigned bands
