Lung Season are the latest band to sign to American label Giant MKT, and they’re set to release their debut 7” 2014 on March 11^th, although it’s currently available to stream here. Whereas the releases name may be considered unimaginative the three tracks that 2014 contains are brilliantly unrestrained, brimming with enough energy and potential to make 2014 a very big year for the Scottish quartet.

With members of Lung Season having previously played in UK outfits Cavalcades and Hounds it’s understandable that their current venture does borrow slightly from these band’s sounds, being angry and intense punk with aspects of hardcore fused in. Vocalist Allan’s style differs a little from his time in Cavalcades, opting for a more polished yet still bristling delivery whilst the instrumental side of Lung Season churns along with a trademark punk swagger reminiscent of early Gallows, with very few noticeable hooks and zero gimmicks. It makes for a very genuine approach to songwriting which relies solely on the energy and passion that the band channel at every opportunity, meaning that their music still packs one hell of a punch but does so without extending its reach too far. Lung Season might not necessarily try anything new, but what they do offer across 2014’s eight minute length is more than enough, and it’s also short enough that it merits repeat listens again and again in quick succession.

In a recent interview the band named Table 13 as their favourite selection from the 7″ and it’s easy to see why, as the opener wastes no time, bursting into life with excellent surging instrumentals and crashing cymbals before vocals come in with the line ‘I’ve been seeing the rain come down for the longest time now / It complements the greys of our work a day town’, setting the tone well for what follows. The lyrical side of 2014 is as black and white as the artwork, featuring a pessimistic and honest reflection of life in grayscale. It’s one of the many areas in which Lung Season really deliver and the lyrics are hard-hitting and memorable, offering shout-along opportunities aplenty, as the vocal back and forth of the opener encourages. Second track Run Dry mixes things up a little, building from a simple guitar intro before head nodding drums enter the equation, with vocals taking thirty seconds to kick in. The song undergoes numerous changes in pace, taking the foot off the gas and then slamming it back down without ever sounding clumsy. Run Dry also features some of the more aggressive vocals and offers more experimentation in its guitars, breaking things up to allow for more melody in the dying minute before dropping off suddenly. Third and final track Boring Conversations follows, and again dives straight in a style that reminds me of early Lower Than Atlantis, mixing pounding instrumentals with rising vocals. Considering the track only just surpasses two minutes it packs a lot in, throwing in gang vocals amidst a chugging down tempo section before launching into heavier melodies as the line ‘We can take everything for what it is / At least then we can say we never broke our promises’ rings out.

As any solid debut release should, 2014 leaves a listener keen to hear more. The three tracks that make up Lung Season’s debut are of a very high quality, making it a release that serves as a fine introduction to a band well worth watching from here onwards.

Rating: 8/10

Pre-order 7” here: http://www.giantmkt.com/products/lung-season

Stream here: http://lung-season.bandcamp.com/album/2014