LYLO – Post Era
With their second album, Glasgow's LYLO seem set to usher in a new direction for the city's indie bands
Just when you think you've had it up to the eyeballs with endless iterations of jangly indie rock, along come a band that restore your faith. Glaswegian five-piece LYLO have returned with their second record Post Era, and if the name is anything to go by, they're ready to usher in a new direction in the city's musical output with a resounding kick up the arse.
The shimmering intro track Everything's Cool sets the tone for the album, with a mournful saxophone solo cascading into a hypnotic jumble of taut drums, jabbing riffs, wobbling synth and the icy vocals of Mitch Flynn; summing up a generation's collective ennui has never sounded so ironically revitalising.
The spitfire percussive intro and jaunty sax flourishes of Turn My Jacket then follow, with the group displaying their slick musicianship during the track's midpoint instrumental interlude. The same inventive songwriting underscores Submerge, a languid ballad driven by saxophonist Iain McCall's atmospheric tones and drummer Justin Allan's faultless, jazz-indebted timekeeping.
Showing admirable restraint by whittling the record down to seven tracks, LYLO have ensured that there's not a single part of the album that's undeserving of its place. Post Era is effortlessly listenable from start to finish, and sets the bar for 2018 very high indeed.
Listen To: Submerge, Yeah Boy, One