The Belair Lip Bombs- Again
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Our Score
The Belair Lip Bombs treat us to a belated but nostalgic summer holiday on their new LP ‘Again’. Kai Marshall takes a listen.
The concoction of youthful romantic passion and the use of guitars to summon 2010s nostalgia is a lethal mix for anyone in their 20s or 30s. Belair Lip Bombs’ new album is deadly in this regard – Maisie Everett captures the beauty and confusion of modern relationships through Libertines licks and noughties indie hooks.
Opener Again and Again encapsulates that vision perfectly: a relationship that can’t or won’t leave the narrator’s mind, set to a tune tailor-made for the indie kids of 42s. The vibes continue on Cinema, whose surf-style guitars make you yearn for T-Shirt Weather – both the Circa Waves track and the summers that came with it.
At first, it would be easy to assume this is just another album about relationships. But that’s a subject that demands constant updating and re-evaluation – and this record reinterprets it for the modern sentimentalist.
Back of My Hand plays with the idea of knowing someone too well, tracing the peaks and troughs of familiarity. Hey You belongs on an indie workout playlist, pulsing with the youthful energy that runs throughout the album – musically and lyrically.
Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair) stands as a punky act of defiance against forces that try to restrain creativity. Sonically, the album doesn’t dig deep into the punk canon, instead drawing its lineage back only as far as 2001 and Is This It – the big bang of indie sleaze. If you want a band that channels the 2000s–2010s guitar timeline with a healthy dose of solos, country twang and an impressive vocal range then this is it.
Where the album falls short is in its ingenuity. It sharpens skills honed on earlier releases but struggles to distinguish itself from other artists cut from the same musical cloth. In an age when discovery happens through playlists, it’s hard to see which track would truly stand out.
That said, Belair Lip Bombs succeed in evoking a potent truth: to love is to yearn. The sentiment is executed beautifully. By the end, both the nostalgia and the theme feel slightly overworked.
Album closer Price of a Man strolls across the finish line to find the crowd already packing up. Spin this album to remember 2010s summers spent in fields and the days of a lower cost of living. Turn it up louder if you want a big sunny smile on your face. If you’re looking for a musical revolution, look elsewhere.
Find The Belair Lip Bombs on Bandcamp and on Instagram.
Buy their album “Again” here.
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All words by Kai Marshall. Read more from Kai on his authors archive and find him on Instagram
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