ALBUM REVIEW: Push Back The Horizon – Lesoir

LESOIR blend pleasantly between progressive and highly accessible soft rock on new record Push Back The Horizon. Under The Stars has plenty of depths through its ethereal synth breakdown and its layered vocals. The guitar work is very elegantly approached, rising in depth as the track requires it, adding yet more texture. It’s also obvious that the vocals are meticulously cared for, with a multitude of harmonies and great production on the often unusually structured vocal melodies. Solid work.

There’s a lot of really good ideas through Push Back The Horizon. Vocally complex You Are The World is a great listen and Fireflies keeps your interest as it delves more in the vein of dark psychedelic prog, its dripper guitar riff and tasty little drum patterns popping along against the harmony. The there’s plenty of very pretty moments and the shades of dark and light throughout are really fun to listen to.

An immediately enticing whirring chorus almost falls into flange territory in The Drawer Of The Chest In The Corner Is Empty. The narrative is pretty trippy but vocally needs a little more grit to follow the darkening tone of the bass. It also could do with something of a breakdown just to tip it over the edge, as the solo feels solid but a little lacking. Overall, there’s still plenty to enjoy and it’s definitely one of the most fully realised tracks on the record.

AEON and Nadi sit comfortably in the centre of Push Back The Horizon, with the entire ten minutes or so being instrumental, really showing some compositional chops that LESOIR don’t have to hang their music around a vocal.

On that same note, unfortunately, What Do You Want From Me? does lack a little in the vocal department. There’s a really tight rhythm section, with the instrumentation taking on a more primal and yet sophisticated musical sensibility. Unlike the similarly influenced title track, there’s not enough of a big push into the real meat of the topic and that really lets it down. Where Push Back The Horizon plays with style and genre to great effect, What Do You Want From Me? isn’t as great as the sum of its parts. The lyrics are fairly juvenile and the vocal never really kicks, feeling what’s being said isn’t half as important as everything else going on. The tail end of the record is pretty decent, again softening into more traditionally rock tones. As Long As Your Girls Smile and Why I Stand Here Now both prove to be decent departing notes for the record.

It’s worth repeating that it’s clear LESOIR have spades of talent from all involved. There’s sometimes a little too much fluff and indulgence, and sometimes not quite enough of a push to really stand out. However, there’s no moment that they don’t show their skill and Push Back The Horizon is a valiant effort with a lot to write home about.

Rating: 7/10

Push Back The Horizon is out now via V2 Records.

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