Our Lunar Activities hail from Stornoway and bring us their new single
It Comes In Waves. Cutting through the band's extensive list of influences and family history, this is some straight-up indie rock with a generally downbeat and sombre tone. You know, the kind that was all the rage circa 1999? As it happens I was all about that music scene, so despite my tastes having moved on since then I found Our Lunar Activities both enjoyable and pleasantly nostalgic.
The band cite Placebo as one of their biggest influences, and on first listen it would be all too easy to say that Our Lunar Activities are trying a bit too hard to sound like them, from the angst ridden vocals to the guitar bridges. True there is a resemblance there – in fact the opening riff of
It Comes In Waves sounds suspiciously like the intro to Placebo's
Nancy Boy. However you shouldn't let this dissuade you from giving the band a chance.
This single release contains a radio edit and full album version of I
t Comes In Waves as well as a b-side
Black White Grey and a video of the single shot in Quicktime (the video is an interesting addition – shot by the band themselves supposedly on a budget of £20, it's based on a combination of slasher movies and snuff films. A tad self-indulgent, but worth watching anyway).
This song is uncomplicated and accessible to basically everyone who was alive at the millennium, however I'm not convinced Our Lunar Activities will be snagging many younger listeners with this sort of music. There's no doubt in my mind that had this band been around when I was in high school I'd have been all about them. However this is a definite step into the past, and as such they may have missed their optimum time to shine. On the other hand though this band did support Snow Patrol not once but twice in recent years, surely exposing them to a wider audience than might otherwise have picked up one of their releases.
If you've ever liked Placebo, Goo Goo Dolls, James, Blur et al there's a good chance you're going to like this single, albeit Our Lunar Activities tend to linger on the darker side of life. If you were never a fan of the indie rock thing, then you'll tune this out within seconds. I'll be keeping an eye on this group in future – I don't imagine they can rekindle my youth single handedly, but they're more than welcome to try.
It Comes In Waves is out now, on Neon Tetra records.
http://www.myspace.com/ourlunaractivities
