CD Review

Lazy Lane – “Keepers of the Gloom”

By Marcus Pan

If I had to make a comparison right at the forefront, Lazy Lane would stand besides such acts as Lucid Dementia(1) or Boole(2). The music has a fairy tale quality about it, spoken by a little girl in a cute little dress, lamenting with silliness, satire and tongue in cheek. The main difference between Lazy Lane and Lucid Dementia is the fact that Lily Lane is world's hotter than Lucy.

Bumping about in the night of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lazy Lane cooked up a net based following that kept them in the MP3.com top 40 charts (back when Mp3.com was about music, not money) and on that success dropped their 7" vinyl EP, The ChiLLs, in July 2003. Keepers of the Gloom popped out in December of 2004, filled with brooding tracks of mystique and interest with synthesized lullabies, the sweet voice of Lily Lane catapulting all of the tracks to a dimension of their own.

Silly songs like Evil Twin, Goth Girl and The Graveyard croon along with expected goth rock strains. The music is good, but nothing to shout about, with Aaron Richardson (bass) and Aaron Simmons (drums), Greg Ballato (guitar) and Lily handling keyboards in addition to her sweet voice. The players are capable, but I think it's the vocals that really lift Lazy Lane well – and the lyrics as well with their satiric content and amusing lines.

Goth Girl for example talks about an innocent little girl who "wears pink" until she meets a guitarist in a goth band, who "turns her on" to the subculture. In another, Hell's Candy, Lily satirically discusses Halloween and how evil the holiday is. Pretty funny. The Graveyard is a romp through the underworld with cliché lyrics that come off as funny rather than inane. There's something to be said about the sultriness of a tiny, innocent voice singing such dark content. The juxtaposition between the sweetness of Lily's voice and the dismal content of the lyrics is refreshing and...frankly, it's a damn turn on.

Lazy Lane's Keepers of the Gloom is an interesting collection. They will probably never rise all the way up to the top as a glamorous headlining goth band...but it satisfies an interesting niche in its fairy tale quality and make up. It's worth checking out for a bit of fun 'n fluff in your regiment of Joy Division, Sisters and the like. Tongue in cheek is fun sometimes...especially if it's from someone as adorable as little Lily. She's my new fantasy.

Contact Information:
Lazy Lane
Post: 751 Meadowbrook Dr. Follanstee WV, 26037, USA
Phone: (304) 670-8735
E-Mail: info@thelazylane.com
Web: www.thelazylane.com

(1) See Legends #143 for a review of their latest.
(2) JHR reviewed their newest work, Pheromones, in Legends #132.

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