13

Brit Rock Texas Style

Reviewed for R13 by Russell Gustave Ochoa of EG15M

On a rainy, January night during "Free Week" in Austin, Texas, Stereo Is A Lie gave the elements a run for their money as they headlined The Parish to showcase their forthcoming self-titled debut.

Armed with its reputation for solid songwriting and sonically rearranging rooms, the black-clad five-piece opened with the hauntingly beautiful 'What We Do', and wasted no time in setting the tone for a night of meshing layer upon layer of lush, gritty reverb and swirling keyboards with the chest-rattling drums and heavy melodic bass of a solid rhythm section that threatened to shake the second floor venue down to the ground.

Effortlessly shifting gears from the lyrical intricacies and earnestness of tunes like 'Cracks' and 'I Won't' to the massive build-up blues explosion of 'Look At Yourself', and barn-burner 'Get It Right', lead vocalist and Newcastle native Glynn Wedgewood lent his soulful voice to the task of raising the audience out of its collective skin as his band mates continued bringing new meaning to the term "wall of sound" on hook-heavy foot-stompers like 'Fine Lines' and their first single 'Too Late'.

Wrapping up an evening of aural assault with the raucous, feedback laden and aptly titled 'Last Call', complete with their fearless leader playing chicken with the stage's edge before ultimately dropping himself (guitar in hand) 4 feet into the awaiting crowd below, seemed a no-brainer for SIAL as they sent the audience back out into the rainy, January night, mouths agape and eyes wide open with the knowledge that the real storm tonight had been indoors.