Loqui - Hermes Pan (Sturdy Records)

Loqui have been stalwarts of the Leeds music scene for a number of years and have quite rightly built up a fearsome reputation as one of the city’s best live bands. I fell in love with them when witnessing a live show back in 2006 at The HiFi Club and was bowled over by their blistering energy. If my memory serves me well, the Loqui line-up now includes members of another of my favourite local bands, Rent.  You can imagine that when receiving this single to review, it was only a matter of seconds before I was inserting this disc into my CD player.

The lead track, Hermes Pan, certainly doesn’t disappoint and is a track made up of numerous magic moments. From the regimental drumming to the doo-wop style backing, the crazy guitar solo to Rob Chapman’s sneering vocals, this song has so many delightful moments that merge together to make an altogether wonderful track. It stands up to repeated plays, as there’s so many different levels and textures to the song, with plenty of light and shade. Towards the end, there is a fantastic a capella moment that kind of sets you up for the rest of the CD, as track two, I Think It’s Going to Rain Today, is a very gentle song, with sparse and delicate guitars and well crafted and multi layered vocals. Like Hermes Pan, this song has so many textures that it stands up to repeat plays. You can certainly tell Loqui have taken their time in crafting this CD. Track three is actually an a capella version of Hermes Pan, with layer upon layer of vocals and harmonies replacing the instrumentation of the lead track. Again, this is another well worked track and a genuine delight to listen to.

Loqui have certainly invested time and effort into recording these three tracks and the results are simply beautiful. This CD should cement Loqui as one of the all time great bands to come out of Leeds. True, they may not have had the commercial success of some bands, but who cares? Their music is genuine and stands up on it’s own without the need for polish, glitz, or fancy packaging. Long may that continue.

Gary Williams

http://www.myspace.com/loqui

http://www.loqui.co.uk/