Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The bonfire that surrounds us is one that few are willing to see burn to the ground, the smoke will cling to our skin for a while but it will also find a way to point the way clear, to act as a beacon that our personal thoughts are sacred. Our belief is tantamount to the revolution that we wish to see witness, whether it is one of the mind, or of the soul, such is the value to be gained by imploring others to Light It Up, and then, like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption, in time finding that new growth can bring forth rapid change.
Belief, it is a precious commodity in which the bankers of the screeching and put down experts will always imply is a bankrupted ideal, and yet we soldier on, we grasp the flame and its meaning and we only ask that we are forgiven for wanting to burn down all that is ours, that no longer matters, so that the seeds of renewal can begin again.
It is in the spirit of fighting for what you believe in that Kris Barras and his band have sought to ignite the personal revolution, then Light It Up, both with the arc of the electric glow of musical illumination and with the fire that burns within.
The sparks that ignite the personal revolution come on the back of intensity, of consistency, of finding the way lit by others and acknowledging their own persistence in the struggle to be seen. Across songs such as Broken Teeth, Vegas Son, the prolific 6am, Counterfeit People, the superb Rain, Let The River Run and What A Way To Go, Kris Barras, Josiah J. Manning, Elliott Blackler and Will Beavis see the whirlwind of gigs and the punishing schedule of expression on the motorways and highways they have inhabited for some time, play absolute dividend as Light It Up rams home the message that to leave your comfort zone has only one result, that you must burn the deadwood to see the beauty of the forest take root.
A hard hitting, scintillating album, one not scared of the inferno of human experience, Light It Up is the match that starts the fire.
Kris Barras Band will be releasing Light It Up on September 13th via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall