ALBUM REVIEW: Loose Lips – Pursuit
Leipzig heavy rock five-piece PURSUIT are somewhat newbies in the industry, having only formed earlier this year. However, that doesn’t mean that they haven’t been hard at work. Combining classic 80s heavy music with their own modern twist, PURSUIT have created their signature hard rock sound. Their upcoming debut full-length album Loose Lips is set to contain incredibly relatable themes throughout, dealing with loss, love and lust from the beginning all the way to the very end.
The first track on Loose Lips is Lovers Have Their Price. Immediately starting things off with a riff reminiscent of bands such as JUDAS PRIEST, this track has potential from very early on. However, it is clear pretty quickly that there is not much individuality here; it just sounds like any other 80s rock band, which is a little dire and unimaginative to say the least. Up next is the title track Loose Lips, which is in a similar vein. Unfortunately, there is nothing really that stands out throughout the track; ultimately leaving the listener feeling disappointed and quite frankly, bored.
Coins On Your Eyes features some great guitar work from Tariq Lorenz, despite the song sounding almost exactly the same as the last. Even the chorus gets pretty annoying after a while – you are left just wishing for it to end. Your Last Kiss leaps in with further vocals from Johannes Hurtig. Whilst you can’t deny Hurtig‘s obvious vocal talent, it just feels as though he is singing with no real conviction in his voice, sadly. A lot of the track’s elements don’t successfully progress over time, and listeners are likely to lose interest pretty fast.
Roadreaper features a surprising yet striking opening sound effect of a car’s tyres screeching, really gearing you up for what’s to come. As with a lot of songs on this album so far, this intrigue is quickly diminished. The introductory sound effect is the only thing that differentiates this song from others. Porcelain is up next, which features another classic 80s-inspired riff, whereas Hate Your Darlings is probably one of the most energetic songs on the release. Saying this, it just seems to move too fast. Eventually, the song slows down slightly nearer the end, with PURSUIT giving more time to their stronger elements.
The closer is Beast With Two Backs. PURSUIT manage to pique our interest again with a haunting sound clip at the very start, adding some personality to the proceedings. It would have been great to have heard more of these more unique elements throughout the album. Sadly, this final track is just a bit of a snooze fest; it doesn’t really earn the eight minutes and 20 seconds of its runtime.
It is safe to say that this record is disappointing. Whilst we were fully expecting to hear something new and different yet somewhat recognisable, PURSUIT haven’t really delivered this in any way, shape or form, unfortunately. This band clearly still have a lot to learn and it shows.
Rating: 5/10
Loose Lips is set for release on November 25th via self-release.
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