CD: “The Lights May Still Show” by We Used To Exist

We Used To Exist have literally made a continental effort to record their debut album “The Lights May Still Show”, as the indie-pop duo’s members, Timothy Lalonde and Dean Rostron originate from Virginia, USA and Sydney, Australia respectively. Currently residing in Berlin, Germany, the two piece band has only officially been running since September 2011, which is remarkable considering the experienced sound which they produce.

The first impression after listening to the album seems to be that they relish the fusion of elements to their sound, with “Fish” opening the track listing. The record opens with haunting whistling, which delves in to sudden piano chords and delay soaked vocals to swamp my ears with a spacey serenity of positivity. Despite being a two piece, this band still manages to create a very wholesome sound, showcasing a refreshingly vibrant style with classic themes and intoxicating compositions. The fusion of elements first becomes apparent during second track “Someone Is Calling Me” where the spacey sounds of “Fish” are cast aside to spill out pacey piano chords and a vintage sounding synth. The opening songs strike me to have a unique, vintage sound with a positive outlook; as influences such as The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac clearly fuel the ideas of these songs, but “Fifteen Knives” possesses the thumping rebelliousness of Glasgow indie rockers, Franz Ferdinand, and also exposes more recent sounds in penultimate track “The Ballad of Stupid Kid”, which is reminiscent of The Feeling.

“The Lights May Still Show” can be concluded to be a diverse concoction of many genres and sounds, with a range of similarities to artists from different decades. A sterling first effort for a two piece that will no doubt have had a lot to write about, given their current lives after both living in such different parts of the world. So hats off to these two men for a unique sounding record with a positive outlook and genre twisting execution. Keep an eye out for We Used To Exist in the future.

The album is available on the Bandcamp link below for FREE, or for any price you wish to choose.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/weusedtoexist
Bandcamp: http://weusedtoexist.bandcamp.com/

Track Listing
1. Fish
2. Someone Is Calling Me
3. Fifteen Knives
4. LaLaLa Love
5. When I’m Sleeping Part I
6. Intermission
7. When I’m Sleeping Part II
8. I May Cause
9. And They Said I’d Never Make It
10. The Ballad Of Stupid Kid
11. Fowl

Words by George Fullerton.