The Queen Might Be Dead, But Lavola Is Alive
2/16/2011
Hailing from where else, WPB, the local trio Lavola has built a lot of momentum in a relatively short amount of time, opening for the Silversun Pickups and Against Me! less than 6 months after their first live performance, playing shows all over the tri-county area, and releasing their latest EP last week with a wild performance at Propaganda. And let me say, on my first listen, their EP blew me away.
Like a finely tuned elevator pitch, track #1 The Queen Is Dead on the band’s Leaving Paris EP immediately drew me in with its clear At The Drive In-esque vocals and shoe tapping beat. In fact, the opening track might be the strongest first tracks I’ve heard in 2011. That’s not to say that the rest of the EP isn’t stellar though. The next 4 tracks might be less aggressive, but they successfully showcase the band’s range of emotions and versatility. And just when my heart rate reaches an acceptable level, the title track picks up the pace again and offers a worthy grand finale to an all-around excellent release by the frenetic ensemble.
I have yet to behold these guys in action, but word-of-mouth from everyone whose been to one of their shows, these guys are a big ball of kinetic activity — some might even say their shows are like a volcanic Lava-ola eruption (fail?). Bad wordplay or not, I wouldn’t miss the next time these guys play a venue near you (hint hint, look at the italics at the bottom of the post).
Stream the The Queen Is Dead below and download the EP by clicking the album art on the left sidebar or the link below (pay what you want, $0 to infinity dollars).