Doleful Lions: 7 (Parasol)
release: June 10, 2008
style: indie electronic
[rating: *1/2] Shifting from indie rock to indie electronic sounded good on paper for Doleful Lions, even if it's a jump on the bandwagon several years late--7 even has a track with a vocoder. The start of the album had potential in the form of an instrumental, but from there it is sadly downhill on skis. From a cheap New Order bassline to wimpy vocals, the Lions' release in 2006 of lo-fi music recorded in 1999 is being missed right about now. Guided by Jonathan Scott's interest in all things fringe, 7 gets Biblical- "I stand before you in creed and Christ/the light returned the runes were cast/on that day of the last/I do conjure thee queen of night." "Here Come the Star Nations" includes bubbly low-budget casio and video game-type music, but Scott's vocals are repelling instead of gelling. i don't know what's going on here but it doesn't sit right, man. Later in the record is an out-of-nowhere excerpt from Halloween III. Weird. Troublesome enough to be swept under the rug immediately. -Kenyon