The Lost Notes are a five-piece band highly active on the Midlands music scene with a keen eye to expand their horizon nationally. They have built a reputation as an adaptable and entertaining live outfit comfortable in a slimmed down three-piece where necessity ensues. To supplant the many live shows, the band led by frontman, lead songwriter, vocalist and multi-musician Ben Mills, have twice been in the studio to record full length albums. RUN FRE RIGHT NOW kicked things off in 2017, while LOWLIFES & HIGH TIMES proved a lockdown hit in 2020 as we were about to be confined to our homes for a long winter. Now opportunity has knocked for this independent band to return to the studio and the result is GOOD LUCK SHOES, a ten-track effort coated in the effervescent identity curated by a band adept at encompassing accomplished recordings into fun nights out.
The core trio of The Lost Notes is Mills, his wife Lucy on vocals and Oli Jobes providing most of the guitar licks. For this album, and larger gigs, Max Tomlinson (drums, percussion) and Steve Vantsis (bass) join the fray and the combined effort lays in front of new and old listeners a record buoyant in demeanour and smooth in its relay from performance to keen ears.
From the upfront a cappella chorus chant of 'Don't Try It On Me' opening the record, a sense of Lost Notes familiarity resounds and you settle down waiting for other treasures to emerge. You sense the opener is going to be more upbeat than what actually appears. The smartest part of this song is the melody attached to the opening lines of the chorus - very catchy and gets a nod here. 'Run Like a River' hits the pedal a touch harder in the second slot and now you start to get the full picture of the harmonies that make the band tick, both on stage and on record.
Lucy Mills has been the architect of some of the finest moments on previous releases and she comes to the fore early on leading the vocals on the ballad 'Mine is the Heart'. The beautiful voices blends impressively with her bandmates' and they bring to life a bunch of meaningful lyrics that seem to be on a different plane to what was served before. The credit to this lies with Ben Mills whose solo writing status is tagged to nine of the ten songs. Among these is perhaps the strongest song on the album when the band turn their hand to 'No Place Like Home'. Although genres are generally sidestepped when attempting to pin down The Lost Notes, this track possesses a country feel.
The album reaches its halfway point with 'God Loves a Sinner' another slower offerings that probably has a dual life of dependable album track and burgeoning live favourite. At this point the largely acoustic guitar work is in the capable hands of Oli Jobes. When seeing The Lost Notes live you quickly realise what a fine player he is and how his sound drives the band forward. Skipping a few songs in the running order sees Jobes' talent turn to songwriting. 'Whiskey for Breakfast' would make a great title for a country song and this redemptive story piece heavily leans in that direction with a touch of the blues tossed in.
Back to the running order and 'Slow Down' kicks off the second half of a playing time just over forty minutes. This is another to feature the bands's trademark harmonies and another to scratch your head when trying to categorise the style. Maybe it's just The Lost Notes being who they are - influenced by swathes across the roots spectrum but wholly individualistic in what they produce.
'River' returns in the title of a song for a second time when 'I'll Be The River' joyously hits the airwaves with boundless repetition a key feature of the lyrical structure in a track as pacy as the record offers. Another likely live favourite to emerge.
As we approach the ending, the theme turns to lost love in the swaying ballad 'Let it Rain'. A song with a decisive conclusion - 'as the storm gathered over I left her for good.' You can be guaranteed The Lost Notes will close things in an upbeat manner and they duly provide here with 'Wildman', a track enhanced with a rare inclusion of some brass. The lyrics need one or two listens to decipher their meaning if that's how you approach an album.
GOOD LUCK SHOES does have the dual traits of incorporating engaging lyrics with a sound creating an air of positivity within a range of tempos. It signals a band on the up and edging closer to where they want to be. If a band ever knows that! As a listener, it is easy to get on board and derive pleasure from the engagement.
