Reviewed by Gareth Hills

Yeovil's "Brought into Being" have a lot going for them. While they stick more or less exclusively within the alt-rock format, they still manage to show what can be done within its boundaries. On this, their debut album, through an awesome mix of inventive synth and piano and a dense backdrop of thick guitars and fat drums the band achieve something that manages to be as melodic as it is heavy, and lyrically, as piercing as it is anthemic. The album is full of choice morsels of creativity - the synth outro on "Chain Reaction", or the quasi-breakdown which ends the title track, for instance. Lead guitar takes pride of place too, and it is so refreshing to find an abundance of Joe Bonnamassa-esque crunchy guitar solos littered all over the album, especially on "I Need You", and "Home". As I have mentioned, the music is backed up by solid songwriting. "Love Story", for instance, takes an almost uncomfortably honest look at disposable relationships and the pain they can cause ("selfish love is overrated"). There's so much going on here that it's difficult to adequately cover everything in such a limited space. This is passionate, accomplished songwriting at its finest, and one of the best debuts I've heard in a while.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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