Lion of Judah is Josh Bannister, his brother Isaac Bannister, Dave Blight, Matthew Knight and Adam Nicholls. My first interaction with their music came when I heard the song ‘I Am Jonah’ taken from their Treasure— EP from 2018.
I found their approach to worship music to be quite refreshing, balancing honest heartfelt lyrics with their interesting mix of synth-heavy indie-pop and electropop. Being a fan of other bands and artists from the UK, their distinctly British texture was a welcome addition and I quickly fell in love with this band from Brighton.
After Treasure, The Antidote — EP their 2020 release was a welcome addition to their discography with memorable songs like ‘Joy’ and ‘Open My Eyes’. Quite frankly, I did not expect to hear from them again until 2022, but they quickly gave me another surprise release in 2021 — their first full-length album, Closer.
‘The Introduction’ kicks this album off, a synth-laden instrumental tune that feels like a short blip as it barely hits the one minute mark. The title track ‘Closer’ starts with a verse accompanied by bright keys that build up to a thumping chorus. It’s a tune that is flavoured with interesting synth loops and vocal samples which create a relaxing yet upbeat feel.
‘Lifeline’ is a song that speaks about the believer’s need for the presence of God. In some ways, this is the theme of the whole album, but no song on the album captures this message as well as this one. With the lyrics, “…be thou not far, here me when I cry, Lord of the stars, bring me the sunrise, we say how long, until the right time?, be Thou not far, a word is a lifeline…” this is one of the best choruses on the album.
‘Lately’ feels like a three-part message from God to a man. The song has no chorus but is divided into three unique sections that flow quite well. The first part is God describing the man’s current state and the frustrated state that He currently is in, the second part is God showing understanding for the man’s predicament while the final part is God assuring him (the man) of His presence, love and promises.
‘Start Over’ carries on the theme of the previous song, picking up on a prodigal son line in ‘Lately’ and building it into its own narrative. It’s a song of repentance and starting afresh with God with beautiful lead guitar licks, drumbeats and a nice bass groove.
‘Negative Earth’ marks the midway point of this album and it’s an instrumental track. It also happens to be my favourite track of this album. Everything about this song is infectious from the pumping drums to the synths on keys and bass. My only problem with it is that it is too short.
In ‘Kingdom Disposition’, Josh sings about the importance of walking through this life by faith and not our feelings; the need for us as the children of God to trust in Him and to set our hearts on His ways and not ours. It’s a song of encouragement with an emotionally stirring chorus that Josh delivers succinctly.
‘Sometimes I Feel Low’ is an acoustic tune reminding us to draw near to Christ and to rest on him. It’s a song of vulnerability with beautiful harmonies and an atmospheric approach to mixing that accentuates the vocals and helps create the right ambience.
‘Up’ is an upbeat electropop tune with fun synth loops and colourful keys that speaks about the undying love of Christ for those who believe in Him. With calming strums and warm keys, they bring the album to a close with ‘Please You’. Of all the songs on the album, this is the simplest one and it fits the message perfectly — a simple heartfelt prayer of surrender to God.
There is a lot to like about Closer. In many ways, it is a step in the right direction for a band that has continued to grow and evolve in its relatively short time of existence. It’s a great introduction to the band for new fans and it's a solid complimentary album to their previous EPs.
In future, I would love to see the band explore more sounds and take more risks with their creative choices. Looking back on their previous EPs and this album, their lyrics are definitely the strongest arrow in their quiver.
However, with every instrumental track I’ve heard so far, I am convinced that there is still so much room for improvement and diversity on the musical side of things.
Ultimately, these observations are minor issues and they do not stop this album from being one of my favourite indie-pop releases of 2021.
Tags: Indie Pop, Electropop
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That’s it for today.
Until next time.
Keep listening!