Lord Loud Premiere New Single “Pressure”
Los Angeles fuzz rockers Lord Loud released their second album, Timid Beast (discussed here), in Sept. 2020, and their new single “Pressure,” comes from the same recording session. And though it was left off the record, and though it’s been three years, “Pressure” arrives sounding fresh and duly urgent, its descending riff and sub-three-minute runtime reminiscent of classic garage rock but also emblematic of the niche the duo of guitarist/vocalist Chris Allison and drummer Michael Field have dug out for themselves stylistically. Able to pivot to psychedelia or pastoral heavy vibes, languid classic heavy rock or proto-punkish shove made gentler by the rampant melody that surrounds, it is a molten sound on a fireproof structural foundation. With what feels like vital attention to pace and efficiency of craft, “Pressure” doesn’t depart this methodology to make its atmospheric impression, instead letting the ambience and mood become part of the track itself.
Timid Beast has 11 songs on it, and the band hints that there may be more 
singles like this coming, so it must have been a productive time putting material together after 2017’s debut, Passé Paranoia (review here), but “Pressure” does have more movement than some of the album-proper’s laid back fare — and you’ve got “Lady Sunday” in there for the more action-packed contingent, and that’s got handclaps — so it’s understandable how it might not fit in a final tracklisting. I think a lot of the time bands feel compelled to point out, “It’s not that we don’t like this song, it’s that it works better this way,” and this far out from Timid Beast, “Pressure” does stand well on its own, Allison‘s cover art suitably horrifying.
“Don’t forget to breathe” is something of a personal mantra — one I often forget — so the whispered “breathe in, breathe out” reminders peppered through the track’s final section after the jangly mini-freakout guitar solo are welcome, if actually a little fast to follow along with as a relaxation method. Fair enough since the song is about being up against a proverbial wall on any number of fronts described below. But if you didn’t hear Timid Beast or just want a refresher or something to listen to next after the premiere of “Pressure” below, that Bandcamp stream is near the bottom of the post as well.
With the caveat of maybe more to come, enjoy “Pressure,” followed by more background in blue provided by the band:
Lord Loud on “Pressure”:
‘Pressure’ was written at a time where we felt an undercurrent of tension fomenting but before all the events that are probably going to end up in history books. Prices, politics, and the music scene all teemed and boiled under the surface. We were also closing in on wrapping up recording sessions to figure out what our album TIMID BEAST might become, so there was some personal pressure on us to produce a crop of songs to cull down to a tight and lean offering. At this time, we were recording in Downtown Rehearsal, and were losing the practice space at the end of the month. We had the idea of doing a song with a lot of loud to quiet dynamics, and we turned it around in a couple days. It was a shared space, so recording sessions would consist of setting up all the mics and getting our engineering down, and Mike usually got it in a couple takes. We didn’t really have time for more because we had to break down and get to our jobs.
The song seemed a little more frenetic than some of the cuts that made the album and we thought it might have a better chance to live on its own. The world got thrown into chaos, and us with it, but we’re finally piecing some things back together to finalize the remaining songs we had. Not sure if the societal tension that inspired this song has been released when I look around at different cities and countries, but the timing feels right for us to finally release some ‘Pressure’.
After three quiet years, Lord Loud peaks out to release a new hair raising single, Pressure. Recorded during the 2020 Timid Beast sessions, Pressure remained an interesting outlier of a song that didn’t find its way onto the final album. When it came time to compose the track order for Timid Beast, the band chose to be concise and to the themes of the album and a few wonderful songs fell to the wayside. The song embodies the sonic qualities of building, heart pumping tension, transforming anxiety and stress into a hard rock classic.
Along with this single, we have the great pleasure of releasing a repress of the long sought after TIMID BEAST lp. Two stunning variants are available. The first is an Orange Splatter in Ultra Clear vinyl with a standard jacket limited to 200 copies worldwide. The second is Creamsicle Swirl in Opaque vinyl that includes a double sided, hand screen printed jacket with a new art layout.
All artwork including the single was make by lead singer/guitarist, Chris Allision. Chris, a professional story artist for animated feature films and draws comics on the side. Michael Feld, drummer, just released a documentary about My Morning Jacket titled “Return to Thunderdome” that he co-directed and co-edited. The band has had expansive reach into creative fields outside of their music output.
Lord Loud are:
Chris Allison – vocals, guitar, etc.
Mike Feld – drums, percussion
Lord Loud, Timid Beast (2020)
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