Sometimes, an act comes along that does things their way instead of following the crowd. Victory Lap is such a band, and their noir-infused genre seems like a breath of fresh air from a band that goes alone when it comes to songcraft. Even their name has an older-world feel and a stiff-upper-lip English world, too. With ‘Torch Songs’, they have crafted an EP that’s warming, vibrant, cinematically huge and captivatingly eccentric.
Detailing their debut EP release, frontman Tomas Ponting explained: “In ‘Torch Songs,’ we aimed to create a record that encapsulates feelings of lost love and nostalgia. We approached each track as if crafting a scene from a motion picture, each one exploring melancholy through melody and sonic textures. A salute to emotions that can be no more.
From the off, the band demonstrates a strong talent for songwriting, consisting of Tomas Ponting (vocals), James Denham (backing guitar, vocals), Lawrence English (drums), Rory Ford (backing vocals, bass), Jake Cornes (piano) what these boys do is beyond what you would expect for a debut.
The cinematic journey begins with the first track, ‘Jealousy’, dominated by Ponting’s slow and steady tenor, which really gives the track a low, eccentric feel. It’s a masterwork of lyrics and performance, and the rest of the band matches Ponting’s frontmanship for its calm and steady manner and ease of listening. This is no background music.
The Talking Heads jazz lounge love-in continues through the second track, ‘Sincerely, Yours’. It ploughs the same furrow as Jealousy with its sweeping antiquity that swoons on the chorus and rumbles on the verses. Even the guitar solo has a post-war vibe to it. It’s left-field pop done with a slacker indie feel, yet the band is bang-on tight and is content to let the track flow.
Injecting some energy, ‘Going Steady’ has a bit of Dexy’s about it with the sorrow of a violin and tinkles of keys over a love-lorn vocal that’s a teardrop away from heartbreak. The band sounds so different to most out there. The wonderful production of the strings and especially the drums generate a likeable and warm vibe that you can’t help but be attracted to. Think ‘Curious George’ Edwyn Collins in its strangeness and outright brilliance.
With perhaps one of the best vocal performances of the year, ‘Faults To The Silver Screen’ is an epic closure that leaves the listener hanging on every word. The longest track on the EP comes in two parts. The lightheaded and sweeping slowly give way to the piano and drums as the track starts to solidify to a dramatic ending.
This is one of those EPs that only has one complaint. It’s too short. Ponting is a vocalist who could sing the shipping forecast to much applause. The band crafts around his music that, although it feels laid back, is well crafted and complicated enough to give the EP 4 tracks of interesting music that is hugely listenable at the end of the day.
Check out the lead single Jealousy, below:
Read our interview with the band here
Find out more via the bands Facebook
With a newly announced debut UK headline tour lined up for December, the new noir infused five-piece will first be hitting the festival circuit this summer, having already ticked off slots with contemporaries including Do Nothing, L’Objectif and Blood Wizard in recent times.
Live Dates
17th-19th Oct – Left Of The Dial, Rotterdam
2nd Dec – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
3rd Dec – Polar Bear, Hull
4th Dec – Headrow House, Leeds
5th Dec – The Grace (Upstairs), London
6th Dec – YES (Basement), Manchester
7th Dec – Bodega, Nottingham
17th-19th Oct – Left Of The Dial, Rotterdam
