British band The Lucid Dream were formed in Carlisle, Cumbria in 2008. Citing The Jesus & Mary Chain and Spacemen 3 amongst their influences, Songs of Lies & Deceit is the band's debut album and follows on from their Erbistock Mill EP and a number of 7" singles ('Hits Me Like I'm Stoned', 'Love in My Veins' and 'Heartbreak Girl') the last two tracks being included on this album.

'Love in My Veins' is probably this album's most memorable and mainstream track, whilst the nasal singing and rather amateur sounding lyrics on 'Heartbreak Girl' make it, for me, one of the most annoying tracks on the album.

'Glue (Song for Irvine Welsh)' is enjoyable, but the mix sounds like it's designed to either hide the vocals or make you think you're in a club where the sound is distorted, the end result is a little disorienting and a little on the tinny side.

When listening to 'Heading for the Waves' I couldn't help but be reminded of 'Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye' originally released by Steam in 1969 and subsequently covered by Bananarama in 1983.

The album contains 10 tracks and lasts for 42 min, 07 sec. While it's not an album that you're likely to come back to in the future, it's an interesting enough diversion for a couple of listens.

5

Nick Smithson