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Midgar

Lead Your Children To The Sky EP

Written by: TL on 24/12/2010 13:38:43

A little while ago, my attention was caught by a British quartet called Midgar, and their newly released single "Lead Your Children To The Sky", which aside from featuring some borrowed harsh vocals from Steve Sitkowski of Outcry Collective, also showcased a band that had a pretty cool sound of its own. Hence I decided to check out the EP bearing the same title as that song, and this review then, is the fruit of that 'checking out' process.

The reason for my immediate infatuation with Midgar, in all honesty, is that they sound a hell of a lot like Fightstar. Leading singer and guitarist Andy Wilson-Taylor has a voice that is a little bit sharper than that of Charlie Simpson, but apart from that, his way of singing and the way his vocals interplay with the backing vocals are pretty much vintage Fightstar. The same goes for the fascination with epic Muse-ish piano passages, and heavy metal elements, like crunchy breaks and pummeling double-pedal drum-work. In many ways, "Lead Your Children..." is very much like Fightstar's second album "One Day Son This Will All Be Yours".

The good news is that Midgar sound, by and large, like seasoned veterans. The production is clear as crystal, the singing is expertly delivered, and both the heavy and the melodic passages deliver in the departments of both 'oomph' and class. You get the feeling that more so than Fightstar, Midgar allow each of their dynamic components to expand more extremely, and you often marvel at how good it can sound, when classical piano and heavy pedal-work find their places within the same song.

The not so good news is that while "Lead Your Children" is quite obviously a record showcasing rather cinematic ambitions, the number of memorable moments that occur over the course of its length are actually rather few. Songs like "Colour Us", and the title track are great, and each figure as tremendous achievements for a young band, but other than those and maybe the quiet "Avalon", the remaining tracks "Karmic Retribution" and "Dream Sequence" pt. I and II are not nearly as catchy as they are 'merely' technically impressive.

That being said though, this is 'just' an EP, and as far as I've been able to gather, it's the band's first. Considering then, how good the sound is, and how accomplished the musicianship is, this holds quite a bit of promise. If Midgar can mold their epic elements into an album's worth of quality songs, then that would surely be an ear-opener to look out for. For now however, listen to the full version of this disc's title track, especially its delicious bridge, and mark Midgar down as a band you should stay aware of in the near future.

Download: Lead Your Children To The Sky, Colour Us,
For The Fans Of: Fightstar, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Union Sound Set, Young Guns
Listen: myspace.com/midgaruk

Release Date 19.07.2010
Rocket Town Records