As quiet as the great lull in 2020 and 2021 was with the world at a standstill, the sequestering of creativity to the internet had some unintended, yet fortuitous, consequences. Spawned after sharing demos across the series of tubes, L.S. Dunes unites some of the best-known names in post-hardcore and emo to create an excellent intersection of influences with their debut record, Past Lives. Front and center is Anthony Green, adding another credit to his extensive history, already fronting Saosin, Circa Survive, and The Sound of Animals Fighting. He’s joined by the rhythm section of Thursday (Tim Payne and Tucker Rule), guitarist Travis Stever from Coheed and Cambria, and finally Frank Iero, a member of the storied My Chemical Romance who also boasts a substantial solo career with a band that’s changed names between each album Iero has released.
The eleven tracks of Past Lives, until recently, were the only work the band had put out into the world, though the arrival of single ‘Benadryl Subreddit’ brings their oeuvre to an even dozen, and of course sparks the question of what else the band might have up their sleeve for a second release – though they’re yet to divulge anything official to that effect. As the album and single go, they live up to the lineage established by each member, bringing together Green’s incomparably-intense vocals with the panache of Iero and Stever’s guitars, and the massive crevasses formed by Payne and Rule as they chug along in songs like ‘It Takes Time’ and the album’s title track.
One of the advantages of seeing a new band is that, no matter what your favorite song may be, you’re certain to hear it; the band covers all their material throughout the twelve-song set, albeit not in the same order as the record. It’s not too long before fans are crowd-surfing, and one of the earliest to go up is a young fan in black-and-white clown paint. There’s an undeniable energy in the room between the band and its audience, many of whom are seeing a confluence of some of their favorite bands all at once, and Green responds eagerly, whipping his microphone cord through the air as it trails him, tattooed hand offering the device to the audience for the refrain of ‘Benadryl Subreddit’. Often he’ll linger at the edge of the stage and motion for everyone to press in closer, and at one point in the night he dubs Providence, “the freakiest of the freaky-deaky” in light of the clown makeup and the general vibe, fitting for a place known for its association with H.P. Lovecraft. The band are good-spirited and clearly enjoying this early stretch of the band’s life – somewhere between ‘Permanent Rebellion’ and ‘It Takes Time’, a balloon starts getting bopped around the front rows and makes its way onstage; it’s unclear if it was brought in or left over from a previous event. Green tucks it under his shirt, and Payne jokingly rests his hand on it as one might an expectant mother.
L.S. Dunes’ music is most effective when it plays to its ancestral strengths, like on ‘Grey Veins’ where Green’s resonant vocal declares, “You don’t have to believe in anything” while scratchy backing vocals sing the phrase “lonely shadow” as a pre-chorus, carried into the full choral segment by Rule’s fervent drumming. But an unexpectedly moving moment is album- and set-ender ‘Sleep Cult’, which in its waltzing time signature calls on soulful backing vocals for the album’s most emotionally raw moment. “I’m sorry that I wish that I was dead” is a hard line to sell with sincerity, but Green rises to the occasion – and the live performance is enhanced by the addition of a few lines in its final chorus, where he says “I wish I was better / I wish I was strong,” adding a dimension to the lyrics we didn’t get on the recorded version, making the conclusion all the more touching. While ‘Benadryl Subreddit’ suggests that the band’s stylistic diversions will be the exception and not the rule, bringing things back to the more familiar with a catchy, growled repetition in the chorus, ‘Sleep Cult’ is a confident flex that suggests, should the group opt for another release, listeners should be ready for anything.
Photos and Review by Collin Heroux
