While 2020 proved difficult for many bands to mount any kind of charge, the Los Angeles-based core of Trevor Howard, Dylan Howard, and Billy Goldstein marked their emphatic arrival with their debut LP Psychic Tombs on Dune Altar.
A convincing concoction of skilled riffage, accented with intelligent aggression and cunning wit, The Lungs exists somewhere in the space between post-hardcore refinement and punk's spirited confrontation. The complete presentation packaged in the band's sound and aesthetic is a strong indication that the future of heavy music can be sophisticated without pretense.
Coupled with the band's fluid ability to navigate the nuances of their brand of heavy music, is a DIY-approach that underscores that The Lungs leave no detail unattended. Their most recent visual in "Cross Cult" serves as an example of that driven work ethic.
Premiering via Brooklyn Vegan, the music video asserted a diligent effort on behalf of the band to offer something new to fans while satisfying their own creative itch. The band's drummer/vocalist Dylan Howard created and edited the visual.
"Having been fans of old school Ralph Bakshi films, we decided to take a stab at marrying the look of aggressively rotoscoped performance shots, selective emotive colors, and subtle lyrically based imagery. All in, from filming to painstakingly rotoscoping each individual frame (roughly 3600 of them), to the final edit, it took about a year to make. The end result is 100% a labor of love. Whether you like the band, like the song, like the lyrics, or are strictly a fan of animation, or into the abstract; there is something there for everyone. It's a deep video for an even deeper song," explains Howard.
Riding a wave of momentum and hoping to commemorate the release of such an emphatic debut LP, the band had prepping a stream their potent live performance called Live From the Gold Room. The broadcast offers a hearty serving of the band's adrenaline-charged cross-core.
Howard said, "In our eyes The Lungs is a live band. Through and through. Full of piss, vinegar, and stoke. We had the idea of wanting to do something to celebrate the release of our first full length, Psychic Tombs. So we called in some favors from our out of work friends, and got heavy. What you see and hear in this is 100% passion. Four guys rippin it and playing the music they love."
Watch: The Lungs Live From the Gold Room via KNOTFEST.com
