“Past Lives” – L.S. Dunes EP Review

Review By Alyssa Arroyo

L.S. Dunes recently released a couple of new songs in the summer of this year. Their first drop was “Benadryl Subreddit” on June 23th, 2023. When the title itself was released, the fan base already had no clue what to expect from this band. Their first and only album Past Lives came out in November of 2022, so they had a lot of room to expand their sound since we haven’t heard all of their potential just yet.

“Benadryl Subreddit” is a fast paced, energetic, song that switches sound constantly. From guitarist Frank Iero’s heavy riffs at one minute and 24 seconds, to lead singer Anthony Green’s piercing vocals L.S. Dunes really show their audience that can could pull off dynamic songs just as well as their established sound. 

Just like the title, the lyrics themselves leave a lot of room for interpretation. Green screams out, “We won’t go back ever again” in three different parts of the song against the hard hitting drum feature, skillfully played by Tucker Rule. Bad on the title and lyrics of the song, one can conclude that it’s mainly about substance use. Iero has stated before that the title came to him while conversing with bassist of My Chemical Romance, Mikey Way, about how some people try to find legal ways to take substances without messing around with their sobriety. While the theme of the song hasn’t been officially stated, the conversation around possible this is definitely prevalent in the song. 

Overall, I find “Benadryl Subreddit” to be an extremely catchy and entertaining song nonetheless. I really enjoy the fast-paced guitar performed by Iero and guitarist Travis Stever that coincide with Rule’s and bassist Tim Payne’s hard hitting bass lines. All in all, this was a great single to come out of the band from their initial album release. 

Only two months after, the second single “Old Wounds” dropped. It was announced that this would be the B-side to the EP both songs would be featured on. The new single was released on August 25th, 2023. I was thoroughly surprised by what the band achieved with this track. Their sound is what I would describe as painful, but in an enjoyable way. In this slower song, Green sings beautiful melodies over heartbreaking guitar riffs played by Iero and Stever. 

Something that I think is really important to mention about these two songs is where they were recorded. The band has been slowly releasing short documentaries online of their time in Joshua Tree, more specifically, the Rancho De La Luna recording studio. It was at this location where they wrote and recorded the official versions of both songs on the EP. I think the this played a large role in the final outcome. The airy, free feeling you get in “Old Wounds” next to the fast and energetic vibe on “Benadryl Subreddit” encompasses the perfect mix of what you get when recording music in the desert with your bandmates. 

As a giant fan of L.S. Dunes and the guys, I very much enjoyed these two songs when they were first released. Having both on the same EP was also a very smart choice in order to show their versatility in sound. I hope this band continues to impress their audience, as I am definitely looking forward to hearing more from them in the future. As of right now, I am very proud to call myself a lost soul. 

 

Image from Alternative Press.