John Lingard & The Foreign Hearts are slowly building a steady fan base after a year’s break from working together on music.
Forest For The Trees is the debut EP for the Bendigo five-piece, serving up a well-produced handful of folk-rock songs that would be best received hand-in-hand on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Opening track “All My Life” combines darker lyrics with a relaxing mish-mash of guitar, piano and drums, whereas the drifting guitars and soft vocals of “Call It Your Work Of Art” give a more blissful feel.
The catchy, “Till The Cows Come Running Home” strikes a slightly more minor tone throughout the verses and bridge and seems to drag on too long and could do with being a minute or two shorter.
It is sandwiched between “I Am A Soldier”, a sappy love ballad, and “Electric Strike”, another lyrically unimaginative folk song, each fairly unmemorable.
The album is tied off with the reminiscent title track, “Forest For The Trees,” which remains engaging, even with a repetitive guitar part, through the nostalgic, thoughtful lyrics and smooth vocals.
This album ends somewhat unspectacularly, fading off into nothing with the lack of drums in the last song, leaving the listener feeling like they’ve missed something along the way.
With an ending like this, there will be big expectations for any future albums from John Lingard & The Foreign Hearts.
