The Lionelle

The Lionelle is emo progressive rock similar to Cursive, The Cure and Brand new. They are currently recording an additional album, but until then, Shipwreck and Oh, the Company That We Keep! can both be found on Bandcamp. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Bandcamp is the only music site not yet blocked at my work.

 

Tate McCallum-Law who sings and plays the guitar has been an active supporter at Kilby Court and played guitar for Allred for several years.  While Lionelle is reminiscent of Cursive and other early emo bands, they do bring new elements to the genre. The song structures don’t always follow the typical Verse/Chorus format and many of the lyrics can seem abstract at one moment only to quickly come into focus. With Lionelle many of the songs can reach as long as 5 and 6 minutes, this with the combination of Tate singing style can challenge the listener.

 

While Tate’s sound is a sharp contrast to the crooning of Allred, I would not be crushed to hear more singing from Tate. I believe there is a delicate balance between art and entertainment, but music should entertain always entertain. A few minor changes could make Lionelle a little more accessible. I do believe screaming will have its place in music, yet one of the lessons hoped to be  learned from hardcore and screamo of the past decade are the limitation it’s vocalization style brings. I do not mean to categorize Lionelle with those two styles, but the music does toe the line. The quality of the musicianship and recording on these CD’s are undeniable and the uses of different instruments are fun and exciting, and I expect great things for the upcoming songs. Unequivocally, I’m a fan of Lionelle. Stand out tracks for Shipwreck are Curses and My Friends.