Lonely The Brave have truly arrived with stunningly original Rudux

Lonely The Brave – Rudux (Hassle Records)

Genre – Alt rock

Lonely The Brave are now three albums in and it’s safe to say they have completely found their sound with Rudux.

The Cambridge born four piece have always been highly respected by their peers, and have a number of big tours under their belt, most recently with Biffy Clyro, but they’ve always remained true to what they do. Despite touring with much heavier, more out and out alt rock acts, Lonely The Brave have done things their way and it’s paid off, as album number three may be their best to date.

Shrouded in feedback, droning vocals, big vocals, whispering vocals and a delectable mix of acoustic and electronic rock, Rudux truly is a joy to behold. Although the pace of the album remains fairly slow, it is filled sonic variation, making each song intriguing in its own right, and completely different to its predecessor.

The album’s real stand out moment comes in the piano infused Rattlesnakes. This intimate track brings David Jakes vocals into the spotlight for the first time, and all the powerful, raspy charm of his voice comes to life, similar in tone to Scott Stapp.

This focus continues in Diamond Days, a beautiful acoustic guitar number filled with infectious harmonies and whispering vocals. This track is fantastically simple, but filled with brilliant lyrics that resonate in a way that you feel you’ve heard this sound a thousand times before, showing the incredible song writing ability of this talented quartet.

A few songs in, and you can feel the energy levels of Rudux rising, even though the pace remains consistent. Tracks like Dust & Bone, Radar and Strange Like I are all very different to the first half of the album, but are also very different to each other. And, that’s the theme throughout the album; although the track listing flows seamlessly, no two songs are the same.

Lonely The Brave will have learnt a great deal from touring with established bands and great songwriters, and Rudux shows they are ready to push themselves on to the next level.

RUSHONROCK RATED 9/10 Classy, sophisticated and stunningly original.

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