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Last Days Of Lorca's Militia EP aims for a thoughtfully heavy sound and in many aspects is quite successful. The immediate plunge into the massive opening riff of "As Flies Fly" had me very excited. What I was hearing reminded me of a dark post-hardcore band like City of Caterpillar. In less than 30 seconds, however, my high hopes were dealt a serious blow. I immediately cringed as singer Pete Lambroud began what seemed like a second-rate Thom Yorke impression. "No!" I thought to myself. "I wanted to like this!" Lambroud's high pitched whispery singing style often sticks out like a sore thumb. At times the vocals, frequently high in the mix and full of reverb, overshadowed interesting guitar parts and had me wishing the lyrics were just screamed instead. Fortunately he doesn't sing like this all the time and departures from this style can be found in the songs "I Am Rat" and "My Militia Will Eat Your M!L!T!A." At points in these songs Lambroud's singing is reminiscent more of Placebo's Brian Molko and takes a back seat to the instruments, providing a much needed break from the distraction of the overwhelming aura of Radiohead-ness.

Throughout Militia, the instrumental parts are consistently what make the EP worth listening to, and the more I force myself to ignore the singing, the more I enjoy it. Drummer Duncan Burgess' original takes on nonstandard time signatures, along with rich and unrepetitive song structures, prevent the songs from falling into predictability. As solid as the drumming is, it would have been interesting to hear what it might have sounded like had Burgess foregone this perfectionism in favor of a more athletic and fill-heavy style. While the guitar parts are not spectacularly innovative, they are very well produced and with prominent but tastefully implemented effects, further the overall heaviness of the release. Despite coming from a standard repertoire of rock instruments, the sound manages to be something more than just guitars, a bass and a drumset.

Last Days Of Lorca have managed to create a very uniform style to their music and seem to have figured out what works best for them. Where this album needs work is in its attempts to transcend this style; at points in "I Am Rat", the guitars and basslines seem aimless and discordant in comparison to the melodic theme of the EP as a whole. The last third of the song, however, is more than enough to redeem it, building into a haunting delay-washed ending which wouldn't be out of place in a sixties horror movie and proving to be a highlight of the EP.

Militia has grown on me much since I first listened to it. This is a solid release and the incorporation of a post-hardcore influence is intriguing to me as a fan of the genre. The overall production is somewhat polished for my tastes but if you aren't a lo-fi junkie it shouldn't be a problem. If Lambroud can find a more unique vocal style, I expect to be impressed with what I hear from Last Days Of Lorca in the future.

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Reviewer: Jack Haley Added: December 20th 2007