In the beautiful old surroundings of Lancaster Castle, hotly tipped local band Lake Komo took to the stage, greeted by the rapturous applause of their hometown fans. Frontman Jay Nudd was branding a Slayer t-shirt and acoustic guitar, an interesting combination which tricked the audience into expecting anything other than the soft vocals he later produced.
Their newest single ‘Weight of Fear and Doubt’ was well received by the crowd, with powerful drumming that didn’t overpower the harmonies being created by the rest of the band. ‘Thinktank’ from their 2015 EP ‘Ritual’ is a clear highlight, with the crowd shouting the lyrics “I was just a boy only 8 years old”, to which the band responded with huge grins. By this point in the show, Lake Komo had already shown that they aren’t a conventional band, by combining elements of folk, indie and pop to create their unique sound.
And this was showcased even further in the song ‘Manners’, when Nudd put down his guitar and the influence of Bon Iver (particularly his newer material) became apparent in their music. As well as Bon Iver, Nudd’s vocals could be compared to Ed Sheeran or some of Deaf Havana’s softer tracks. The refreshing addition of crystalline synth sounds, light piano and Jess Gould’s backing vocals complement Nudd’s electronically distorted vocals. Funky bass guitar permeated the track ‘Ritual’, sonically the best track of the set, inducing a sea of nodding heads.
‘Resurrect’ provokes a strong reaction from the audience who begin to boo and chant ‘One more song!’ when front-man Nudd introduces the last song, which thankfully is their biggest, ‘Milwaukee’. As well as being the perfect climax of the gig, the individuality of each band member shines through on this one, whilst they continue to retain a strong group dynamic. Later, they return to the stage by the crowd’s demand for an encore, frontman Jay expresses his surprise and says that an encore was “unexpected” and whilst their choice was a slower number and at first a bit of an anti-climax, it still showed off his impressive vocals and eventually crescendo’d to a powerful ending.
This show in the picturesque setting of Lancaster Castle was important for Lake Komo, it was a homecoming and a headline slot at the Lancaster Music Festival and the band seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience as much as the audience did. They showed the crowd that they are worthy of their growing following by striking an ideal balance between catchy indie-pop and more experimental elements and they are brave to try these ideas out so early in their career. It seems that with more touring and the continuation of their multi-genre approach to writing music, the band have a bright future ahead.
