It’s a crucial time for Our Lost Infantry. The Surrey-based quartet go into November with the knowledge that it’s the biggest month so far in the short lifespan of the band. With their debut album due out on November 14th and a handful of shows being played across the south of the UK to support the release, the next few weeks will go a long way in determining how far the four-piece will go. The only question is whether they’re really up for the challenge. The only answer is of course they are.
What Our Lost Infantry have captured is a much sought after balance between art and noise. The band flirt with both post-rock and indie flair to create a sound they choose to refer to as “pop gone awry”. In truth, the last thing you want to think of Our Lost Infantry as is something “gone awry”, because the music that the quartet are delivering is anything but.
So far, the only taste the band have given of their upcoming release The New Art History is the incredibly promising “Part 4 – All The Streetlights Of My Hometown”. The full album is a 36 minute piece split into 9 parts (which, as the band assert, is not the least bit pretentious), but the brief glimpse we’ve been given so far paints a very interesting portrait of what this album is going to be. “All The Streetlights Of My Hometown” is a perfect introduction to the atmospheric, harmonic sound of Our Lost Infantry; easy to pick up and immerse yourself into as it builds and morphs throughout. It manages to be both laid back and bouncy as it showcases the both vocal and instrumental synchronicity that has been nailed down by guitarist Thom and bassist Joe Ashworth, drummer Michael Parkin and keyboardist Matt Phelps.
There’s a more energetic edge to Our Lost Infantry too, as demonstrated by 2011 EP My God, It’s Full of Stars. Just two tracks long but another bite-size chunk of music that’s well worth sinking your teeth into. The title track and “Vessels” both give the band a chance to make a statement that certainly caught the eyes of Deep Elm Records, who quickly snapped the group up in time to push the fast-approaching debut album launch.
As far as first impressions go, Our Lost Infantry have given one of the best you could hope for. It’s borderline impossible not to be excited for the release of The New Art History just two weeks from today, and if the expectations are lived up to, then not even the sky may be the limit.
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