Blog Post
Lives – 'Let Them Eat Cake'
Reviewed by Sam Fuller • 25 November 2024
Let Them Eat Cake is the debut from LiVES, founded by Peter Chisholm, formerly of The Sea. If you’re a fan of punchy British modern rock inspired by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age or White Stripes, LiVES is the perfect new band for you!
Opener Cancelled starts hard with a pummelling drums and dropped tuned guitars. Despite the title feeling a little cliched, considering the liberality of it’s use in socio-political sphere, the message of the song feels anything but. Actual rebellion in 2024? I thought that was forbidden! Lyrics documenting the unsettling rise of censorship, defamation, divisive ideologies, toxic social media and modern-day McCarthyism ring an unsettlingly relatable sentiment, and when combined with the band’s massive sound, it sends shivers down your spine – and this is just the first song!
Come Together follows, with the band rolling from strength to strength. Peter’s powerful lyrics really hit hard as he screams about therapy and depression. The emotion behind his voice resonates hard, with the soft backing vocals in the chorus adding to this further. The basslines in the verses add a layer of funk before the drums and guitars drive up the power into the chorus. Third song Is This What You Want? Change the album’s dynamic again, with fuzzy overdriven guitars and groove laden drumming guaranteed to have you swinging from side to side, before an unexpected tempo increase slams you straight into the chorus.
What A Way lays on a heavy Alice in Chains vibe, with the vocals and accompanying riff in the verses adding flavours of Artic Monkeys and Chilli Peppers to the recipe. For a song lasting less than two and a half minutes, it still manages to hypnotise, with a huge layer of voices over the powerful, crunching groove suspending the listener in place throughout. Title track Let Them Eat Cake continues this trend with a headbanging riff and pulsing rhythm but implements a more retro sound reminiscent of the later Beatles albums and early to mid-70s Led Zeppelin. The whole album is filled with a massive plethora of influence, only comparable to it’s awesome volumatic presence and sound. Let Them Eat Cake is so unique in many ways that there is bound to be a flavour in the recipe for almost every consumer!
Is this what you want?
Tempo change in chorus
Melodic falsetto vocals
Octaver on guitar solo?