SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: LIZARD POOL – SPARK

Lizard Pool
Spark
Out Of Line

Finding a dark harmony between the frenetic melodies of indie rock and the depressive tones of post-punk is the artistic drive behind Lizard Pool’s second LP Spark. Through the employment of heavily synthesized backings that border on Goth-tinged dance beats, the German three-piece is able to develop a cohesion between modern and throwback without seeming like another lifeless seat on the bandwagon.

There is more in the way of originality with this album than others that simply create new songs by utilizing the techniques of ones that we never forgot. “Wave of Joy” and “Extra Mile” deliver that downcast aggression through intense bass lines that pierce through a cloud of hair spray while “Staircase Balcony” has enough ringing distortion to shake the bats clean out of the belfry. All three of these, like much of the album, are able to blend layers of synth that exceeds the Joy Division-inspired instrumentation in terms of era, but compliments that melancholy with bites of electronica that seem nearly as isolated.

However, there are moments where their particular fusion of styles is presented in such a way that it exhausts itself within the first minute. “Even Better Living” and “Bloom” both offer blissful melodies that show how the feet of their influences are spread decades apart, but offer little in substance to hold the listeners attention. Overall though, the sounds created on this album are wholly unique and infectious, even if some should have perhaps stayed in the studio a few sessions longer.

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