Songs of Interest is the new EP from the London-based alternative rock trio Lend Me The Twelve. Consisting of three tracks, it acts as a wonderful introduction to the world of a band who refuse to do anything conventionally.

By Graeme Smith

Opening with the single Devil’s Advocado, it immediately catches your attention through is energetic and meandering plucked guitar and lively percussion. It’s a sound that the band refer to as “Black Samba” and the arrangement swells and lurches from acoustic folk to rock and doesn’t fit nicely into either genre. All I can say for certain is that their sound is captivating.

Track two Birds ‘n’ The Bees takes their sound in a very different direction. Bass heavy with rapped verses the track feels like an anti-seduction song. Put it on the bedroom and watch your date quickly leave! Yet it’s delivered so uniquely that it works perfectly as social commentary. It may not seduce you but it certainly makes you think.

Track three introduces staccato funk that never quite hits its groove – deliberately. The vocals are melancholic and stripped of emotion lending so much more weight to its fast-flowing and image-laden lyrics. It proves to be yet another facet of Lend Me The Twelve’s sound.

Though all three tracks are individually unique, they are brought together through their unconventional feel and speak of what else this band is capable of. Personally, I’m very impressed. It’s been awhile this I’ve found myself listening to something that’s subverted my expectations so completely.

Made up of Sam ‘Kaiza Kushington’ Pappon, ‘St James’ McGuinness, and Callum ‘The Hyde’ Stephens, Lend Me The Twelve already have a following in their South London home, having been gigging for three years. It definitely feels the right time for the rest of the country, and indeed the world, to take notice. Check out Songs Of Interest below.