Review 27/03/10- LAF "Sparkle"

SCREAMLITE RECORDS LTD REVIEW FORM
Band Name: LAF
CD Title: Sparkle
Press Pack Included: No
Review: This was sent to the hotmail account.
The LAF have their influences firmly in the classic late 60’s/early 70’s rock and that is no bad thing at all. “Running Out Of Time,” has a great little organ/synth line throughout, sounding very much like “Whiter Shade Of Pale,” and other great songs of the time. The drums keep a solid beat while the guitars are drenched in effects and lower in the mix to just keep another rhythm ticking over. The guitars do come into their own during the solo, throwing on some Hendrix-esque overdrive and riffing with great competency. The vocalist has the hint of Cave about him but likes to extend the note, making this more dreamy than Cave. “The Philosopher,” starts with another guitar riff drenched in reverb and echo which makes the song again quite dreamy and psychedelic, which is what the LAF are going for. It does sound like something The Cure have written during the mid 80’s but that’s just the riff itself. The song overall keeps in the trend set by “Running Out Of Time,” dreamy rock which makes the listener relax and take in all the textures given.
All in all, great little EP by LAF, played to perfection and really chilled without relying too heavily on overproduction or computerised instruments.