The XX Review: CD Of the Month Review

Month of: July, 2003
Record Reviewed This Month: Lazy Lane, "The ChiLLs"

Track Listing:
1)The Girl Upstairs
2) Sleepyville Creepshow
3) Eraser
4) Nepenthe
5) Black Cat
6) Always Tomorrow
7) Waking Up Buttercup
8) Madame Ruby
9) Poltergeist
10) Soul Thief
11) Malaysian Dream Doll

This is the freshmen effort of the Pittsburgh based band, though the album was produced locally in Madison, WI. Part of what could be called the First Generation of bands to take full advantage of the boundless opportunities provided by internet culture, Lazy Lane debuted a number of their songs (prior to release of the full-length album on July 4, 2003) on mp3.com and quickly rocketed onto the Top 40 lists. According to the band's official website, "Following the buzz, Barcelona, Spain's Butterfly Records released a limited edition 7" vinyl that debuted their first EP in June 2002. This reached the ears of record producer Mark Adkins...."

Mark Adkins, as fate would have it, is a local Madison producer type guy, running a little operation by the name of Brokenshit Studios. The man took a liking to my radio show and then proceeded to hook me on Lazy Lane. So here I am, reviewing the fruits of their efforts.

The album is awash in live instrumentation mixed with eerie synthesized sounds, featuring the haunting vocals (a la Mazzy Star) of Lily Lane. The songs are dark fairytales, told with equal parts deep menace and gleeful mischief-making (think of Shakespeare's Puck recording an album). While at times it is clear to the listener that this is, indeed, a freshmen effort, the production is fairly solid, with only a few missteps here and there (the drums in certain songs seem a fraction off from the music). One or two of the songs draw too close to heavyhanded cheese for ones tastes ("Sleepyville Creep Show"), but there are enough stand-out tracks on the record to keep it well afloat. "Madame Ruby", "Waking Up Buttercup", and "Black Cat" catch my attention the most, creating just the right mix of eerie, laid-back music and oddly spritely but gloomy vocals.

With a fairly solid cult following already in the works and a more than decent debut album under their belts, one can easily assume that Lazy Lane will only continue to rise in fame, using the internet to circumvent traditional and more stuffy media outlets (mainstream media may not take readily to their unique sound) to good effect.