aaamusic | On 24, May 2014

Bad For Lazarus bring this single from their debut album Life’s a Carnival, Bang! Bang! Bang!, in which the group have tirelessly self-produced; their hard work evident throughout the track. The lawless scuffle that is ‘Tos and Fros’ jerks you back and forth with metal guitar crunches and fiery rallying calls; and descends into whirling, controlled chaos. It features a blend of intriguing lyrics and non-conforming instrument timings and noises; refreshingly unorganised, but it took me a few listens to see it.

When I first played ‘Tos and Fros’ there was a feeling of a disordered and unsettling barrage of sound, certainly passionate and unrelenting nonetheless. As I listened more it became clear that Bad For Lazarus are clearly not aiming to play by set rules of rock/pop music, but rather targeting an almost anti-pop sentiment.

These efforts of sounding unique may not appeal to the masses, but does well to satisfy a need for something ‘different’, in a time when much of today’s music is a clear imitation of records of the past 50 years. Bad For Lazarus will hopefully showcase more of this in their upcoming album Life’s a Carnival, Bang! Bang! Bang!, out 28 July.

★★★★★

Liam Dodd