The lowtones, an indie 5 piece from the UK, specifically Norwich, has released their long-awaited EP “Front Row Empty”. From the first song in their EP “Let Go”, you realize this isn’t just your normal indie band, with them combining influences from early Interpol to 90’s Robert Smith. This EP surges with gothic energy, with songs like “Funeral”. The melancholic guitars, heavy bassline and mellow yet strong vocals, exudes pure goth energy. My personal favorite is “Alone” which makes you simultaneously feel lust for life, with its dreamy guitars and pounding drums, and feel brimmed with feelings of solitude with its sad lyrics. It makes you do a double take! Another song in the EP that makes you do a double take is “Near-Misses”. You’d think it’s a love song, with its tender tune and soft drums, but it’s far from a love song. It talks about a man who cannot find love and is just destined for “near-misses”. The lyrics “..will someone accept the way that I came” shows man’s struggle with himself. The man v. self-theme manifests throughout the EP, where you feel like the subject is both struggling internally and externally.
The lowtones left the best for last, with Streets of Shame”, the final song on their EP. It’s the hidden gem of this EP. With hazy guitars and soothing vocals, it provides a calm that knows no equal. The song puts you in a kind of meditative state, so much that you question whether it was all a dream when the song ends!
With the excellent guitars, heavy but powerful vocals and the pounding drums, “Front Row Empty” is sure to put The Lowtones on the map.
