Album review: LANDMVRKS – Lost In The Waves

Throw a rock in the air and chances are you will hit a metalcore band. There is presently no shortage of low-squatting musicians that can string together a chugging verse, soaring chorus and obligatory beatdown. Fortunately, LANDMVRKS have a few more strings to their bow, nimbly sidestepping between genres across their third album.

The Marseille quintet make no bones when it comes to penning a dyed-in-the-wool mosh track, delivering Rainfall with more neck-snapping twists than Pazuzu from The Exorcist. But then along comes Always, a funked up number boasting unashamedly poppy vocals. Call it a misstep, call it trolling – either way, the band jump into it wholeheartedly. And is that a laid-back trap beat snaking through Visage?

They also have a secret weapon in singer Florent Salfati, whose resemblance to Chester Bennington goes deeper than peroxide blonde hair and a strong jawline. His voice is an elastic vehicle for emotion, whether unleashing feral barks or a soft, soulful croon. At the climax of Visage you can hear him pushing his voice higher beyond his comfort zone, making the line ‘I’m losing my soul and I can’t escape’ sound utterly desperate.

Yet LANDMVRKS' ability to pull off any genre with élan is also the central problem with Lost In The Waves. There are so many ideas across these 10 songs, yet no specific combination to give the band a distinct identity, or inventive enough to be memorable. As a result, musically at least, Lost In The Waves feels a mile wide, but an inch deep.

The emotional heft and talent at their core is evidence that LANDMVRKS have a great album within them. Lost In The Waves is simply a good album, but no worse for it. There is still plenty to dive into here.

Verdict: 3/5

For fans of: Wage War, Novelists, Beartooth

Lost In The Waves is released on March 19 via Arising Empire/SharpTone.

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