Bristol newcomers LOVELOST aim to give old-school emo a modern twist in a sound they describe as “emotive, vulnerable and energetic.” The result is an engaging rock approach that sees moments of metal-influenced heaviness fused with engaging atmospheric sections.
The band started out as a music project between Tobias Faulkner and Sam Elswood. In a mission to take things more seriously, they went looking for the right new member and brought Ed Williams and Anthony Jones on board in 2023.
And on the sound they’ve honed, Tobias told us: “We’d describe ourselves as an alternative / emo band. We’re all emo kids at heart, so you’ll hear old school emo influences but with modern twists and soundscapes behind the music.”
Our first taste of this is LOVELOST’s superb debut single BURNBRIGHT, which was released last month. It opens up with a light flickering guitar and little synthy bursts before diving into a big atmospheric section. That drops into mellow vocals, which flow into more lively chorus “So tell me why, Why I couldn’t stay inside your arms?, If only you could, Show me why, Why you had to burn out instead of burn bright?”
The chorus ends with booming guitar chords, which flow back into another laid-back verse and a couple of renditions of the heavy chorus. Second-time around, the pace drops with pulsing synths, then explodes into crushing guitars and vicious screamed vocals. Melodic vocals return and setup a big atmospheric final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Tobias told us: “We’re relieved it’s now out for public consumption. The feedback has been fantastic and we’re quite overwhelmed with the response! BURNBRIGHT is an extremely vulnerable song about the loss of a friend, so for it to now be out in the world has felt quite cathartic for us. We like to describe this song as an ’emotional ballad’. Its purpose is to invoke emotion, so we really hope people can feel that.” Check out BURNBRIGHT in the video here:
The band’s members share an interest in the likes of Underoath, Fightstar, Silverstein and Saosin. But they combine a wide range of musical interests, from drum and bass to hyper pop, which sees them “try and mash influences from all genres to try and create something unique.”
And on what inspires them to write music, Tobias explained: “Our writing process is like writing a diary. All of our music is about personal experiences that we have dealt with should it be about loss, anxieties or frustrations within the world. We find expressing ourselves through music is our ‘secret ingredient.’ Music isn’t really music until it means something.”
BURNBRIGHT is out now through Year Of The Rat Records. And there’s plenty more to come from LOVELOST, with the band focused on releasing new music and promising us “a number of tracks” will be dropped through 2024.
And Tobias adds: “We would just like to thank everyone for the support. Interacting with small bands is so important for the industry so every like and share that people do means the absolute world to us, so thank you!”
You can follow LOVELOST on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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