“Did I started listening to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?” Racked Rob Fleming, the protagonist of the novel “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby.
The question could also be asked for greenhorns Bantam Lyons. Because the pieces of these four young Britons in exile in Nantes you stick the ball in the stomach even more effectively than an afternoon of Brest drizzle spent glued to the window. And because we can hear watermark a digest of what has recorded more melancholy since the 80s. Therefore it does not take you very long to scratch the surface before bringing back reminiscences of a rock / noise of Mogwai (crystalline guitars of “Wednesdays”), a cold-wave in the Joy Division ( “Mamad” and its low tachycardia), a dream-pop to Mercury Rev (upsetting the “Glow”), rage choked post-punk (the hymn “Something Familiar”) or a sense of drama Talk Talk ( “Yellow Fingers “).
Driven by a singular voice that stirs you the depths, the music of Bantam Lyons wakes up the eternal teenager spurned in everyone of us. Because sometimes it is good to be a little unhappy. And it is always good to listen to pop music. Whatever else.
Portée par une voix singulière qui vous remue les tréfonds, la musique de Bantam Lyons, entre indie rock et influences new wave et post rock, réveille l’éternel adolescent éconduit qui sommeille en chacun de nous. Parce qu’il est parfois bon d’être un peu malheureux. Et qu’il est toujours bon d’écouter de la pop music. Peu importe le reste.
