ToLiesel - The Light

After writing the previous blog post about Message to Bears' song Wake Me, I visited their Facebook page.  Scrolling through the latest posts, I saw a link to a recent gig that listed the other bands that performed with them. I searched one of them, ToLiesel, clicked the link to hear their song, and very quickly fell in love with it.

Sometimes it is tough to put a finger on exactly why I like a particular track. Other times I can easily declare, "The chords are wonderful!" or "The voice is heavenly!" or "It fills me with joy!", etc. etc.

In this case, I am ashamed to admit that much of my enjoyment is because it reminds me of another band. Making comparisons seems to be a staple of music commentary, yet usually frowned upon; it is often considered lazy, and too reliant on the reader's knowledge. And yet music is sometimes phenomenally difficult to describe in words that the only way around it seems to be, "They sound like [this band], only rockier/funkier/darker/...".

ToLiesel's The Light reminds me of Big Country, a Scottish band that were mostly successful during the eighties. The similarities were first obvious to me in the vocals, but even the guitars take me back to songs like Look Away and Wonderland. Yet it is important to note that, firstly, I may be the only one that even thinks they sound similar and, secondly, it isn't a bad thing. I could also, just as easily, suggest that the guitar is reminiscent of Parachutes-era Coldplay.

The Light is ToLiesel's only output so far, but I am certainly keen to hear more from this band. The harmonies are unforced and gentle, the guitars ring out with the comfortably familiar indie-echo, and the heavier sections of the tune remain focused and in-keeping with the rest of the tune. It's impossible to make any judgement of a band based on a single track, but I look forward to what comes next.

Oh, and they have kindly made this song free to download. So do it!



Visit: http://toliesel.com/

"He who sings scares away his woes" - Cervantes