Lonely The Brave – The Day’s War (CD)

Gavin Edgeley, David Jakes, Mark Trotter, Ross Smithwick, and Andrew Bushen, aka Lonely The Brave, are new faces in the rock genre and they are set for bigger things this year. The Cambridge five-piece signed to Hassle Records in 2013 and released their EP Backroads later that same year. Finally, four years after they formed, Lonely The Brave released their debut album The Day’s War last year. They have received resounding praise from the likes of NME, Digital Spy, and Rocksound.

The Day’s War is full of powerful, guitar-rich anthems, with a similar sound to Biffy Clyro. The intense melodies in ‘Trick of the Light’ and ‘Backroads’ ground Jakes’ bold and sincere vocals, and the band parade pessimistic and provocative lyrics in ‘Deserter’ and ‘Black Saucers’ – “I’ve been drinking with those demons, those creatures with the claws.” Islands is another standout track and is heavy with energetic drum beats and guitar riffs, creating an arena-worthy track.

The leading tracks on the album have to be ‘Victory Line’ and ‘The Blue, The Green’, both of which have been released as music videos on the band’s YouTube channel. ‘Victory Line’ consists of impressive, biting guitar riffs, particularly in the last quarter of the track, and again features beautiful, although more upbeat, lyrics – “We’ll be taking off instead of coming down. We’ll be breaking out, instead of falling in.” ‘The Blue, The Green’ shows off Jakes’ anguished yet stunning voice as he howls “I wanna know what it’s like, so I can feel it inside.”

Lonely The Brave’s long-awaited debut proves to be edgy, addictive, and stimulating. The Day’s War is a moving album, containing strong and thoughtfully-produced tracks. With only one album to their name, Lonely The Brave have brought a fresh new style amid the popular names such as Royal Blood and Funeral For A Friend, and are set to gain momentum this year as they head out on their headline tour of the UK and Europe.