Label: Fantasy Records
Released: 11th November 2022
You can spot all the hallmarks and fingerprints of the individuals that make up L.S Dunes across this album, but they have still found a way to make something completely original on ‘Past Lives’.
Built on a rebellious punk spirit and held together by a sense of impermanence, this album has the visceral energy usually reserved for bands just starting out and ready to take on the world. Opening at the bottom, the raw and powerful ‘2022’ has Antony Green considering the frayed edges of his mortality. Ramping up into ‘Grey Veins’ and ‘Like Forever’, the band find their hooks before declaring all-out chaos on ‘Permanent Rebellion’. It’s an outstanding collection of punk and hardcore anthems from those who have shaped the genre in the recent years.
That said, the completely disarming ‘Sleep Cult’ is a woozy departure and a reminder that it doesn’t have to be so serious all the time too. ■ Alexander Bradley
