Left Alone are a band that have been slogging their guts out for coming up to a decade. Their hard work and DIY ethic has paid off and after a number of EPs and appearances on compilations they are now releasing their debut full-length record, ‘Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts’, through Hellcat.
The band draw inspiration from a host of bands, ranging from The Clash and Rancid to Elvis Costello, and this is something that is immediately apparent in their music. Left Alone clearly parade their influences. Whilst this means this is highly unoriginal stuff, it doesn’t mean this is a bad album. The other factor to consider at this stage is that Left Alone place a lot more emphasis on matters of love than a lot of their contemporaries.
So what we have with ‘Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts’ is an album of simply constructed punk songs, hints of ska, Rancid-like bass lines and splashes of emotion. Surprisingly, although we’ve seen all this a hundred times before, this proves to be a solid and enjoyable listen. From the sheer fury of ‘Broke My Heart’ and ‘Wasted Time’ to the feet-shuffling grooves of ‘Another Feeling’ and ‘Heart of Mine’, this is an album that holds your attention throughout. There are fluctuations in quality but there isn’t a poor song on here.
‘Lonely Starts & Broken Hearts’ is an album that feels instantly familiar – like a favourite armchair given a new cover. This is comfortable listening. Left Alone are a band that undoubtedly wear their influences and their hearts on their sleeves and they’ve produced a very solid album that will appeal to anyone that’s ever enjoyed anything by bands such as Rancid, Operation Ivy and The Swingin Utters.
Mark