PREMIERE: Lion Sphere’s Debut EP Is A Beautiful Beast
We’ve got our hands on something special here! Every once in a while you find a band that flies far from the overused pop palettes without getting bogged down in experimentation and busy instrumentals.
Hailing from Berlin, Lion Sphere is a 4-piece which blend kaleidoscopic hip hop grooves, syrupy guitar licks, with shards of smooth electronica. After playing shows for over two years, the band finally recorded and released their debut EP ‘The Infinite You’. The result is a thoroughly unique sound, that at most offers elements of a toned-down Foals or Local Natives.
Title track The Infinite You opens with a crisp drum beat that unfolds into infectious keyboard melodies and jazz-infused bass. Joel Montagud’s suave and smoky vocals carry effortlessly over the brooding sonic backdrop. The track is a mesmerising bite of dreamy and soulful soundscapes offered in the EP.
“If you ever played the city building simulator SimCity this is the track that would be perfect for hours upon hours of infrastructure funding adjustments and urban zoning.”
Silk Mountain offers some silky vocals, serious groovy keys and chunky guitar melodies. Lion Sphere’s contemporary song structures shines through in this track that hops from melody to delicious melody over and over again, featuring those smoky and perfectly harmonised vocals.
The EP’s single Sisters delves into deep midnight beats that swirl around delicate falsetto and airy synthesisers. The lyrics, “Are you real? How much of it is true? How much of it is you? Shape shifting a new life,” create a character that lives off a facade, a tragic shadow of who they really are. The track just screams a menacing yet sophisticated tone that’s as cerebral as it is addicting.
Caravan rolls out a sunny atmosphere with a smattering of sugary, high-flying vocals that build into a swirling sphere of synths, guitars, and meticulous percussion. Referring to the trading convoy rather than the camper-van, Caravan brings soulful sophistication to the normally pop-influenced electronica genre.
Leaving Berlin further behind, At The Lakeside is an instrumental meditation featuring alluring acoustic guitar melodies that drift above flickering keys and percussion. If you ever played the city building simulator SimCity this is the track that would be perfect for hours upon hours of infrastructure funding adjustments and urban zoning.
“This is an EP that commands full attention, your ears will thank you.”
The EP’s final track Rest of Me rounds out the quartet’s hypnotic brand of progressive fusion that ceaselessly reveals new melodies, rolling harmonies, and vibrant vocals at every turn. The track blends a driving bass presence with the smoky vocals that have been kept buoyant throughout the EP. Any soundscape is always crafted in a way that feels full without being overly busy and difficult to digest.
Lyrically, ‘The Infinite You’ explores the concept of having “multiple versions of yourself, which are often mirrored by people around you”.
“Some you have control over, some hide in the unconscious and burst out in extreme situations. When faced with a difficult circumstance you’ll often find yourself developing a new layer of personality to deal and learn from your situation,” says Montagud.
Lion Sphere’s ‘The Infinite You’ is a wonderfully intricate and versatile EP that commands full attention, your ears will thank you!
