LAC – Vostok (2018)

•LAC•‘s first EP 141/146 was a varied beast. In parts it was a tight, almost minimalist piece of instrumental rock, clipped down to clicking drums and relaxed guitar lines. In others it exploded into walls of reverb’ed guitar that sounded like a band of hundreds rather than three.

Their first album – VOSTOK – is no different, a musical melange that switches from tight, plinky guitars to disco grooves (‘Okeechobee’) to almost post-metal swagger (‘Jökulhlaup’). ‘Inlandsis’ and ‘Zephyr I’ sees the group flex their compositional muscles, deftly mixing low hisses of walkie-talkie static, swells of assorted instrumentation and field recordings with ethereal guitar loops and slowly-building crescendos. On these tracks in particular, they demonstrate the kind of restraint and love of slow-building tension that served them so well on their first EP. If this album is a statement of intent it will be hugely exciting to see where they go next.