Mancunian Self-described “Chaospop” masters Lure In return with their second LP We Are All Going To Hell, an album set on shining a light on the dystopian nature of modern-day society, all while providing a rousing and defiant illustration of just how rich the country’s DIY scene has become. Since their inception, the band has consistently tried to keep things in-house, including mixing and mastering, which is an impressive feat, especially for a band with a sound so complex and diverse.
The opening titular track features a grainy overarching fuzz as the album begins to blossom, rich layers of vocals from both lead vocalist Cameron Wilson, and guitarist Sofia Sourianou coat the roaring guitars underneath and are pinned by the concise yet drumming of Sammy Coker. For the uninitiated, the song makes for an excellent starting point, and also provides an insight on what you can expect for much of the album too.
The following track ‘Your Own Worth‘ really picks up the groove, with fast-paced syncopated drums that race alongside the dreamlike vocals, but despite this haze, there are still plenty of flashes of that aforementioned chaos throughout the track, particularly when you reach the tail end of the track, where Wilson’s snarls power through the harsh sound for maximum poise, which creates one of the album’s true hair-on-end moments.
Digging deeper, ‘Runway Performance‘ and ‘I Saw You In My Dreams Again‘ both highlight some of the lighter aspects of the Chaospop noise that Lure In aim to explore throughout their sound, with elements of hyper-pop and shoegaze plentiful in each track. Melodies are shadowy and both Wilson and Sourianou’s vocals work in a wonderfully balanced contrast, and the risk of the vocal styles antagonising one another is averted, thankfully, leading to a delivery that is both crunchy yet fuzzy.
While it’s easy to get caught up in this album’s lucid dreaminess, tracks like ‘Delusions of Grandeur‘, ‘God Saves‘ and ‘Empathy Deficiency‘ are there to help to bring you crashing back down to earth. The switch between the two styles is uncomfortably easy, and as the smokier shoegaze effects are swapped for the razor sharp, clinical riffs, the demeanour of the album changes entirely. It’s endearing to see a band making great use of its heavier influences so effortlessly, with harsh vocals that permit Wilson to truly bare his fangs, each one featuring a bloodthirsty soundtrack in accompaniment.
Closing track ‘Reprise‘ is introspective and thought provoking, but doesn’t hesitate on bringing the album to an end in the way that only Lure In knows how: with bedlam-filled noise. No other ending to the album would suit quite so well, and each time you listen, it leaves you just a little more unsettled than the last. Once it’s all over, 18 minutes might not seem like quite enough, but Lure In’s sound works best in small doses, and the self-awareness to keep it so short-but-sweet means it’ll likely never go stale.
Lure In are a band with magic running through their veins, to be able to produce an album of such quality independently is unfathomable to many, but they show that it can be done, and to do it in such spectacular fashion is a testament not only to themselves, but to the scene from which they hail.
