4 out of 5

Label: Lonely Voyage Records

Produced: Adam Edwards, Daly George

A cross-section of so much instrumental rock goodness, Lost In The Riots, by description, seem like they’re trying to do too many things at once – hardcore, melodic post-rock, metal, pop – but it’s executed so cleanly and unshowily that the mix never seems at odds with itself. Where Bonds can be said to slip a little bit is just in how the band’s focus is applied, and I’d suppose there’s a YMMV concept here: if you tend to like math complexity over riffage, or moody over meaty, or etc. and etc., there might be a section of the album that works better for you. Where opinions could be shared, though, is that Lost In The Riots’ Bonds works best when not trying to hop too far from one style to the other.

My leanings are more toward the riffy, rocky stuff (although I’ll admit I’m missing a bit of the metal chugga from the group’s debut), which sets me to be more favorable toward the album’s A-side: heavy, low end-ladgen grooves that stop and start and twist, the relatively clean guitar and and crisply recorded basslines interplay allowing for LitR’s melodic component to be ever-present. I’m very much set in mind of a bit lighter Keelhaul: a group that also often prioritizes momentum in their composition style, keeping tracks focused and to the point – Riots absolutely share that mentality, and Bonds’ A-side has some of their best examples of it.

There’s a narrative expressed on the bandcamp page for this album that suggests its 2-year writing period was a tough one, and so the emotional “arc” that, to me, begins with B-side’s Telomeres is where I fall out a bit. LitR definitely can write this more spacey, post-rocky stuff, but it’s generally been used as a stepping stone between bigger moments; Telomeres and the next couple tracks make it center stage, and it simply doesn’t feel as strong to me. Perhaps that aforementioned momentum doesn’t sync with the kind of build-up post-rock of this variety favors (think Mogwai’s instrumental stuff, played at a quicker clip), which means that when the songs get to their heavier riffs – because they definitely still have those – it’s not as impactful as when a song is barreling along the whole while, starting out with a punch in the face and impressing by keeping that strength and speed going. The most abrupt example of this is the American Psycho-referenced This Confession Has Meant Nothing, which hits a hard – but brief – stop to change from pretty to pummeling in its final moments. And then, almost as a reset, there’s a fleeting acoustic track afterwards – Gold.

But: the album absolutely bounces right back with In Triplicate, and the triumphant title track closer, which is exactly the kind of big bang with which you want to end a disc, while also making a nice bookend with the album’s opener, sharing a similar, and memorable, bass-led hook.

The tracks which I’m criticizing are not at all bad: they absolutely sound like the band, still, just trying on a slightly different outfit. It’s not my preference, but I’ll allow it also gives the album dimension, giving the tracks that follow even more ability to knock our socks off.