Forming in Gilbert, Arizona, Lydia have become quite the underground success story in America, whilst remaining fairly invisible to the UK indie-rock culture.
Lydia is a band that have had a fair share of turmoil, with several line up changes, a history of “hardcore drug” usage and its founding members Leighton Antelman and Steve McGrew falling apart, which lead to their unfortunate demise.
Fortunately, a year passed and Antelman found it in himself to rebuild Lydia and start afresh alongside Craig Taylor, Matt Keller and Justin Camacho. With a return in 2011 and studio album ‘Paint It Golden’, Lydia illustrated their importance as theie record captured thousands that yearned for their revival.
However, it has been two years since that and the Arizona indie-rockers have teased audiences with continuous announcements and updates of their 2013 release, ‘Devil’. Was it worth all the torment? Yes.
‘Devil’ builds on where Lydia left off; its melancholic lyrics and humble tones send the band into a new direction. The record offers a faster tempo than their previous work, whilst some tracks replicate the clever, mysterious, ballads that is forever-present on their discography.
The vocal harmonies and melodic hooks help Lydia explore, a depth of exploration that is rarely seen in this type of genre, whilst the band continue to layer around the founding factors of original Lydia; reverbed-vocals, multi-instrumentalists across welcomed song structures and an atmospheric rock that you can’t help to embrace.
Their latest offering may not be of the same musical magnitude that their 2008 ‘Illuminate’ was, but they’re definitely moving in the right direction. Hopefully, a direction that sees them in the UK soon.
Check out their single ‘Knee Deep’ below: