Lastelle // Exist Vol. i // EP Review

Oxfordshire-based Post-Hardcore band Lastelle are about to embark on the next part of their growth journey as they follow up the handful of singles and previous two EPs that have already been self-released.

Having seen over 3 million streams and 80 thousand followers across social media platforms and exposure across BBC Radio 1 alongside Metal Hammer and Rock Sound, the band will release this 6-track offering and then play a one-off release show at The Black Hearth in London on the 18^th September.

So what does this offering bring to the table? As you press play you are greeted with ‘Pine’ You are met by an atmospheric background and the sound of the guitars as the drums slowly come to the fore and a clean vocal – but it has a subtle feeling that there is that Post-Hardcore element lingering under the surface. The vocals switch up a bit, the guitars turn up.

That Post-Hardcore off-kilter sound is constantly present and matches that uncomfortable feeling of exposing your emotions and questioning your place – as Lastelle have done here.

The blending of the atmospheric and the anguish is as beautiful as it is painful as the collision of feelings are sounded out in full glory. You will be singing and screaming at the same time, unsure which side is going to make you feel better, so you just go with whatever you can. Then, next time you listen to the EP you will try the other and see what soothes the most.

By the time you are halfway through the EP, you can’t e-help but feel completely encompassed by is a stunning sound that has been done incredibly well and makes me wonder why the band are self-releasing. Is it through choice, as if it’s not then it can’t be long until Lastelle are picked up? This is some of the best music of its kind that I have heard this year and has been on solid repeat since it landed in my inbox on Sunday.

By the time ‘In Unison’ closes the EP, you will be as sold as I am if you are a new listener to the band and will be scrolling through the back catalogue and seeing if there is a way for you to get to the album launch to hear it live.

Exist Vol. i will be self-released on 12^th September 2024.

Review: Ed Ford