Lost Souls @ Lincoln Mezz Bar

Lost Souls’s performance to a legion of loyal fans proved why they’re ready for the spotlight, writes Ryan Butcher.

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Lost Souls’ eponymous EP release, and was perhaps misunderstood when describing it as “over-polished”. This comment wasn’t mean to be taken as a negative criticism. The quality of Lost Soul’s production values is a credit to the self-assured confidence the band willingly exude.

Regardless, following my review of the EP, one question remained. Could Lost Souls translate the same bile and energy from their recorded material effectively to a live environment? If last Friday’s performance at Lincoln’s Mezz Bar is anything to go by, then undoubtedly, yes.

First up, a couple of deserving mentions to the support acts. The Ironi manage to distill the faux working class sensibilities of the Arctic Monkeys with optimistic, yet somewhat juvenile, potential. Their cover of When the Sun Goes down sounds flawlessly like the original.

Meanwhile, steeped in flannel and distortion, The Rafters sound like the band Kurt Cobain wished Nirvana could have been when he first listened to a Pixies record.

Then its on to the headline act, Lost Souls, whose live performances are made up of three equal parts. Quality song composition, a convincingly professional stage presence, and a horde of dedicated followers immersing themselves in every note of every song.

Surrounded by smoke and multi-coloured flashing lasers, frontman Sam Warner leads a chorus of voices whilst looking very much like an Ian Brown waiting to happen. The vocal range that impressed me from their EP manages to stay true when transferred to stage, filtered through a sense of invincible aggression.

Meanwhile, the rest of the band prove that they don’t just rely on expensive studio production, coming across as a fearless, well-oiled, and more importantly, well-rehearsed machine. Interestingly though, they invite a sitar player to the stage through one of their closing songs, not only confirming The Beatles as a big inspiration for the band, but also showing that Lost Souls are a group unafraid to try new things.

Lost Souls look like a band waiting for their call up to the big time, and if they stay with this compelling progression, it’s surely only a matter of time.