The bell that never rang

"A remarkable record capturing Lau as they head towards their creative peak. Everything seems to be working together, the new sense of freedom, the ways that the individuals have pushed themselves and continue to develop as musicians, the spirit of collaboration (...), the willingness to experiment with sound, tone and texture but above all the ability to fit it all in one common purpose".

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"Produced by Reveal Records alumni Joan Wasser (aka Joan As Policewoman) The Bell That Never Rang has an all-round freer and more song-orientated feel that has arguably been borne of the band unshackling themselves from production duties in the studio and being allowed to focus entirely on their musical craft. Given that this is Wasser's first production job on a full album for any artist other than herself the results are even more remarkable ... The Bell That Never Rang is a startling piece of work and deserves to sit atop an already impressive back catalogue as the jewel in the crown for this increasingly brilliant trio. Close the album of the year polls now - we have a winner!".

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"This is, er, different. Lau have never been shy of pushing the boat out and taking chances, but their resolve to shake things up and move their horizons beyond the beyond accelerate several gears on an album that careers at a breathtaking rate between spiritual beauty, intricate musicianship, torrential soundscapes and demonic frenzy ... There are more Drever vocals than we've heard on a Lau album before, there's electric guitar, piledriving rhythms, sharp waves of electronics, moments of tenderness and solitude, deep classical undertones, a cavalcade of contrasting textures, some Beatlesque harmonies and - the centrepiece of it all - an extraordinary seventeen-minute title track featuring the Elysian Quartet which simmers and spits before evolving into a climactic, experimentally discordant mesh that will alert the local canine population. Singalong, it ain't ... The word "groundbreaking" has probably been used many times previously in Lau reviews, but it has never beentruerthan here".