Review
Luther
Siblings & Sevens

I remember seeing Luther a few months back at a small venue in Pittsburgh where The Menzingers were headlining. I was really stoked to finally see them live and not all that surprised that half the crowd was outside smoking when they played first. Seeing them live left me with almost the exact impression their EP Siblings and Sevens left me with. I wasn’t blown away and they didn’t give me this unexplainable satisfaction, but they had heart and that stuck with me. Luther played like the room was full and the crowd was singing along to every word. It wasn’t the most amazing performance in the world, but it showed promise. That’s what Siblings and Sevens is to me: it’s a record that shows promise and potential.

My biggest issue is with the opener track “Siblings and Sevens”—it feels misleading and out of place. It opens the record with a mellow and acoustic vibe, then instantly leads into the best song on the album that you’re not even prepared to hear. Even though the song feels too short and unfinished, they win me over with the next track. “This Is Like Fight Club” is hands down my favorite track on the EP. Not only am I a sucker for a catchy title, but the song itself is just as catchy. The whole vibe of the song is exactly what I want to hear from Luther, and if anything, I wanted to hear more of this throughout the entire record.

“Two Anglers” is a more toned down song and doesn’t give me exactly what I want, but it’s still catchy and holds my interest. One thing I really want to give Luther credit for is that they aren’t afraid to do their own thing and fully explore songs. Almost half the tracks are five minutes long, which might leave short attention-spanned people bored, but for the rest of us, it’s something I wish more bands did. Siblings and Sevens isn’t a record I could listen to on repeat, but that’s because there’s something so satisfying about that first listen. The songs aren’t rushed and they have time to develop.

Luther feels like a unique combination of The Menzingers mixed with Explosions In The Sky. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but Luther is proving that theory wrong. The band closes the record with “Aztec Tomb,” which is far more fitting than the opener and leaves me completely satisfied with a record that isn’t the most solid, but has loads of potential. I can’t wait to hear what these guys come up with next because from what I’m hearing, the possibilities are endless.