Lesoir - Latitude (2017)

Many bands create beautiful pictures: wonderful colours, elaborate motives and impressive shades of emotion, all in an inspired framework. However, that step is merely the beginning for Lesoir, because on their new album they aim for the bigger picture. Many pieces of art are limited by measurements, norms and formats – that is not the case with "Latitude". For instance, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is certainly impressive as she is, so how spectacular must it have been to really get to experience that mysterious woman? That is a good way to describe the relation between "Latitude" and common art rock albums.
The eye is capable of so much more than just visualizing series of pictures; every feeling receives its first outline from the eye. Similar things can be said about the sense of hearing. Music can be a mere amalgamation of sounds, however, in rare cases, sometimes it manages to go deeper und display pure truth. With "Latitude", Lesoir has succeeded in creating that kind of singular magic. The fourth studio album from the Dutch outfit is not merely a skillfully crafted illusion: it indeed mandates the very three-dimensional shape of reality that other records only pretend to have.
Compared to previous albums, this time Lesoir has put much more focus on a progressive artistic direction that prioritizes melody over blunt rage. More than ever there is a clear, both experimental as well as ambitious balance between lyrics, melody, groove and explosive dynamics. For instance, during the mixing process for "Latitude", there was the imperative intention of giving the music space to breathe. In that context, having a wizard like John Cornfield behind the soundboard, certainly came in more than handy. Among other multiple other achievements, Cornfield is the man responsible for Muse’s legendary sound on the "Absolution" album.
The artfully structured soundscape is also a major contribution in the formation of the precisely defined and multilayered reliefs that translate the lyrical content into the three-dimensional art form. Be it climate change, mankind’s role on this planet or the bloodcurdling story of friend of the band and survivor of the Bataclan terror attack Ferry Zandvliet: Lesoir fuse the beauty of melancholy with a rugged maliciousness of an unforgiving wasteland. The result is music that is as impressive as it is touching.
The band quartered at sound maestro John Cornfield’s Sawmills Studio. But that is not all: for "Latitude", the band also added The Pineapple Thief frontman Bruce Soord as co-producer. The co-operation provided the songs with another dimension of depth that the complex compositions could be placed into. Never before have Maartje (vocals, flute, piano), Eleën (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion), Ingo (guitar), Bob (drums) and Ingo (bass) managed to get to the heart of their music in a more precise way.
"Latitude" bursts with liveliness and shatters the borders, opening up entirely new dimensions of music.