Halifax duo Lashes is nothing if not complicated. Formerly known as Lvbor Cvmp, the band has made efforts to soften their image in time for the release of their new album When The Internet Calls—which leans so far into the realm of a concept album that it plays like an uncomfortable manifesto.
“At the beginning of this year, we decided to change our band name from Labor Camp to Lashes in hopes of reflecting our changed sound and allowing the band to be more approachable,” says Raleigh King of Lashes.
Their name aside—double entendre and all—they find cohesion in an identifiable sound across the board with elements of goth, post-punk and pop mixed with just a touch of sonic experimentation. A low-fi haze lays across most songs, keeping things a little bit distant, as if they were recorded at the far end of a hall. This has the effect of placing the songs a few years out of time, taking us on a little trip back to the last century. What remains most consistent from their previous incarnation is a penchant for difficult-to-understand lyrics muddied by the stylistic choice of burying them in the aforementioned haze. At times it works.
The actual sound of the album, however, becomes a footnote when compared to its controversial themes. When the Internet Calls is either profoundly complex, offering inclusivity and delivering insight into a character that is most often found rearing its head from the bowels of a message board, or it’s a dead-pan delivery that strays too far, or too earnestly, into territory likely to make listeners uncomfortable. Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson this is not.
“We set out to make the album by creating a vagrant to be our protagonist. Our idea was to create someone who embodied a lot of the insensitivity and self-indulgence we felt we see in other men and ourselves,” explains King.
“Our thought was, although bashful in nature, the truth is a lot of men are very lonely and withdrawn without a place to express themselves apart from lashing out. So, this is an album where we hope to capture the essence of that, with songs about suicide, falling in love with sex workers or strangers on the internet, obsession with fame and celebrity status for hope of redemption, and of course reconciliation but only ever with ourselves. All culminating in an ever-confident self-loathing hero.
“We’re hoping to recreate a lot of macho ‘80s Bruce Springsteen style but make it a parody of itself.” An ambitious goal, but not one that resonated with me.
Despite the album’s controversial aspects, the opening track “Passion” launches in with a great vibe, has pop hooks for days, and a late-‘70s-early-‘80s feel. They offer a tip of the hat to Rod Stewart’s “Passion” on this one, an ode to the love you want, briefly, late on a Saturday night.
The album’s title track, “When the Internet Calls,” is an exercise in lush production with layer upon layer of well-crafted synthesis, from the soaring pads to the radar ping lead line. Lyrically, this track takes on the idea of falling in love with a face on the internet and allowing it to turn to abject hatred. It comes across as a devil’s advocate, and there is enough of that perspective out in the world. A critical examination, while challenging for a three-and-a-half-minute pop song, might have stood up better.
“Bleed out” has an irresistible bass line with a light and fun vibe that just feels like the song you want to hear last at a show, one that will keep you bopping along for the walk home. It’s grim in the way that a lot of classic goth tracks are, and the lyrics are sparse, allowing you to take what you like from it, rather than forcing one particular storyline.
Lashes has delivered a challenging album and has shown they aren’t afraid to tackle some big subjects while also delivering some really good basslines.