By: So I have a bit of a confession to make. Initially when I received the press pack for the Dialects debut 5 track EP Let The Kids Light These Lanterns I was intrigued. The pack stated that this would be for fans of some other bands, both of which are bands that I really like a lot. However, these kind of statements can kind of be like a poisoned chalice, in that it’s putting musical references into a listeners head which they may not get to themselves or worse still compounding the fact that they sound EXACTLY like the bands that inspired them, the band Kingdom Come springs to mind.
So that is kind of my confession, after a few listens to LTKLTL I very nearly fell into the trap of thinking that the band were exactly like the bands that were named in the press pack.
In my defence this is partly due to the fact that the seed was already planted before I’d even pressed play. Dialects do play post/math/soundscape rock music, the music is instrumental, heavy in places interspersed with nice clean reverb/delay with changing tempo’s and rhythms. So it is easy to see why you might fall into the trap and dismiss them as some sort of copycat band. I just want to urge any potential listener to this EP. Please, Please, Please do not fall into this trap. Give the Conor, Ali, Steven and Jonny a real chance and you will not be disappointed. That is not to say that the style and genre that they play will always be ground breaking or different and there will be no similarities at all to any references made, but it is different.
All 5 tracks on the ep are well played, produced and structurally stand up well, as sometimes with this genre some bands tend to over play a riff or a breakdown which can lead to being a bit boring but thankfully this is not the case with Dialects. The songs have really good changes and riffs and the interplay between the guitars is really nice and sounds like the guys know each others style well. Again with this style it takes a fair bit of genius to keep the listener engaged without any vocals but there is enough goin’ on here that kept me engaged. Track 1 – ‘Restless Earth’ really stands out and showcases the talent that the guys have and enough tempo changes and rhythmic variations for a whole album, all wrapped up in a great track. ‘Unknown Orbit’, ‘Good Luck Felix’, ‘Let The Kids’, and ‘Spectacular Supernovae’ complete the ep and all great tunes.
So all in all this is a really solid debut ep and hopefully you will give it sometime and don’t fall into the same trap that I almost did. Look over any sort of press comments and just put the damn thing on play and let yourself be the Judge and Jury. This is one ep you won’t regret listenin’ to.
