Local Band On A Crusade
by Patricia Montgomery, LincsMag Writer.
Date: 05 September 2010
Playing live since the turn of 2010, The Lounge Crusade are Lincoln’s latest musical talent vying for precious megabytes on your iPod.
Far from being made up of newbees the band is in actual fact, made up of talented and successful City based musicians.
Chris (guitar) and Jason (drums) were part of The Idlers whom in 2007 signed to OTO Records and notably played the Topman Stage at the Leeds Festival, whilst Nathan (vocals) and Joel (piano) are familiar faces on the local acoustic scene.
With a wealth of experience already behind them, the band have not wasted any time in making sure their music gets heard. Headline gigs at Liverpool’s legendary home of The Beatles The Cavern Club, and London’s Water Rats, are just a couple of the many performances the band have racked up in their relatively short existence.
Recently, a summer of festivals has seen them play to over 1,000 people at Skegness’ Embassy Centre, and perform live on BBC Radio across the East Midlands with a video of the latter having received over 8,000 views on YouTube.
Style & Substance
Playing what can be described as a radio friendly, yet intricate, piano led indie sound, The Lounge Crusade have certainly gone for both style and substance.
They have just released their debut EP, a three track effort that was recorded at Lincolnshire’s very own Chapel Studios and produced by Jim Spencer (The Charlatans, New Order, The Cribs). With soaring sing-a-long choruses and foot tapping rhythms, there is an instantly catchy feel to their sound.
Influences throughout the EP mainly point towards the soft melodic rock sound of bands such as The Fray, Scouting for Girls and The Script however every so often a sound jumps out, takes you by surprise and changes your whole viewpoint.
Funky bass lines and jazzy percussion rhythms take you into a smoky 1950’s American bar, whilst acoustic guitars coupled with wailing guitar solos drift you fondly back into the 90’s, whilst always comfortably wrapped in a modern feel good sound.
Certainly a recommended listen both through the headphones and live, upcoming tour dates for The Lounge Crusade include a somewhat unusual local date at The Collection Museum in Lincoln (Oct 9th) and a support slot with the hugely successful Lincoln band The 22-20s in Cambridge (October 13th)
Boundaries of Expectation
It’s refreshing to see a local band pushing the boundaries of expectation and if The Lounge Crusade continues to work and play hard, it should only be a matter of time before their songs reach the huge audiences they are ideal for and rightly deserve.
To find out more information about The Lounge Crusade search for them on Facebook or visit www.myspace.com/theloungecrusade.
The EP is available to download now from iTunes and Amazon for just £2.37, with a CD release to follow soon.
Enjoy!
