Review by Darren Smith for MPM
Kent, the Garden of England is currently having a very fruitful period of providing rich and healthy musical produce for the rest of the country to feast on. I don’t know whether it is the air, the water or some good composting but when you hear the music that is coming out of the county, whoever is in charge of fertilising the music scene there is doing a damn fine job.
In the last few years, Kent has produced Collateral, Wicked Stone, Gallows Circus and Black Roze and you can now add The Lost Search Party to that list.
Formed in 2018, The Lost Search Party, a currently unsigned 4 piece from the Medway area of the county have already made a bit of a name for themselves in their short and Covid-19 affected existence.
They only managed to play three shows before live music was brought to a halt but have used their lockdown time wisely to record this EP, release three singles and continue to amass a healthy social media following, which now numbers over 5000. They have now released a fourth single ‘Getaway’ in the build up to the release of their ‘In Search Of…’ EP, which is due for release on the May 28th.
The EP, which includes five of the six songs that they played in those live shows and all four singles that they have released to date is, as the title suggests, intended to serve as an introduction to the band and what an introduction it is. The band say “The record demonstrates our ability to write and perform classic and more ‘typical rock’ as well as showcase our sophistication in writing heart-felt ballads and thought provoking lyrics”. I can assure you they are not wrong.
It is not just the musicianship that is of the highest order on display here but the song writing too. This may well be their debut EP but with ‘An Invitation To…’, The Lost Search Party have produced a product that should see them found by the masses very quickly. This is rock music of the highest calibre and this release will send a battery of flares high up into the sky to make sure they are found pretty damn quickly.
Lets get one thing straight from the start, this is a truly sensational EP. Right from the opening holier than though, gospel like vocal intro to ‘Oh My Lord’ all the way through to the closing piano moments of ‘River
Runs Dry’ this is an absolute gem of a release that leaves you in no doubt that hitting the scene is a band who are capable of producing music of seismic proportions and have a beacon shining brightly above them that will surely leave them as The Lost Search Party in name alone.
‘Oh My Lord’, the bands 3rd single, kicks proceedings off with a magnificence that gets your ears pricked up from the get go and then demands your full attention throughout.
After its churchy gospel like intro, the song blends perfectly into a beautiful soulful, bluesy rocking number that is the perfect vehicle for frontman Nick Kent to demonstrate what a fantastic set of pipes he has on him. Guitarist Luke Austin lays down a really crunching blues riff for the track to be built over and also treats us to further enthralling guitar work during a number that has everything in it, rock, soul, funk and a lot of sweet blues.
Check out the bass line from Joe Kent that leads into the chorus, just divine. One song in and I am hooked.
2nd single ‘Evil Girl’ is up next and kicks in with a swirling guitar riff over a pummelling drum beat from Shane Brown that provides a hugely mesmerizing constant backdrop to this tasty blues rock masterpiece.
Nick Kent’s vocal parts are laid down perfectly and that rasp in his voice really adds to the heartfelt emotion of this classy little tune. This is followed by ‘Backseat Lover’ which was the bands debut single and has now had over 200,000 views on the bands social media platforms.
Machine gun drumming and another raunchy riff herald the arrival of this out and out rocker. The beat laid down by the rhythm section will not fail to get your head shaking, whilst the bands six string maestro creates some guitar parts that are so delectable they enthuse over indulgence in the air guitar department.
The penultimate track is ‘Getaway’ which was released as a stand olone single in the lead up to this EP’s release. Of all the tracks on the EP, this is clearly built for radio airplay, with its arena sized sound and catchy chorus. Yet another rip-snorting guitar intro comes screaming at you at the start and on a number packed with more electrifying vocals I found myself sitting, just listening in awe at the superbness of what I was hearing.
The bass and drum that powers its way though behind all this is in one word, arousing, and it does what it is supposed to do, by galvanizing the whole thing together. I was just blown away by.
‘Getaway’ and found myself singing it in my head long after I first heard it.
That brings us to the final track, ‘River Runs Dry’ which is in no uncertain terms a track of epic proportions to close the EP out. Clocking in at just over eight minutes it shows a different side to the band and demonstrates that they are clearly multi-faceted when it comes to writing and playing.
From the acoustic intro to the piano led outro, the harmonious backing vocals and the way the song builds to move from beauty to beast with one final crunching riff and more crunching drums, ‘River Runs Dry’ may just be the cream of the crop on an EP that has four other tracks that could easily lay claim to that title. It is a moment of real elegance and beauty and leaves you clamouring for more, more more.
Hopefully that moment will not be too far away as the band state “We understand that the currency in this business, is the songs. To that end, writing has not ceased. We already have enough new quality songs to record a second EP. Fans should expect at least one new single release by the end of 2021.” I for one cannot wait. In the meantime I will continue to play this glorious release on a regular basis and will hopefully catch them live very soon as they have some gigs lined up in Kent in 2021 and have further shows booked into 2022.
An Invitation To…track listing
1 – Oh My Lord
2 – Evil Girl
3 – Backseat Lover
4 – Getaway
5 – River Runs Dry
The Lost Search Party are
Nick Kent – Vocals, keyboards, piano & tambourine
Luke Austin – Lead and rhythm guitar
Joe Kent – Bass
Shane Brown – Drums & backing vocals
The Lost Search Party online
Facebook – www.facebook.com/TheLostSearchParty
Instagram – www.instagram.com/TheLostSearchParty
Twitter – www.twitter.com/The_LSP_Rock
