Introducing The LaFontaines;

I am one of those keen gig goer's who always loves to get to the gig early to catch all the supports. This recently is how I have discovered the majority of the new artists I listen to nowadays. I love to see how an artist composes themselves on stage and how the audience react to their performance, almost like my own judging process. I find there is something particularly personal listening to a song for the first time live. I have seen artists both thrive and flourish or crack under the pressure. As of late the LaFontaines are my most recent success.

They supported Eliza and the Bear last month at the KOKO in London. As the second support the crowd already felt a little warm but it was the responsibility of the LaFontaines to get them really fired up and pumped for Eliza and they did just that! The crowd instantly fell in love with their softer Don Broco sound with a hint of Linkin Park rap. They very much remind me of a Scottish version of Twenty One Pilots but with catcher riffs. I particularly love the energy lead Kerr Okan brought to the stage really engaging with the audience. Every word he pronounced you could really hear his Glaswegian accent which I found very unique and endearing. The way the accent comes through in my opinion is as successful as fellow Glaswegian's Sam McTrusty's iconic vocals (Twin Atlantic).

Since the gig I have been listing to the LaFontaines at every spare opportunity I get. My favourite songs of theirs include King with its insanely catchy riff repeated throughout and Junior Dragon which really got the crowd pumped during their set. However my favourite by far has got to be Under the Storm released back in April last year. Unlike the other two singles Under the Storm begins with some quality vocals from John Gerard rather than going straight into the rap from Kerr. This provides some variety and shows the band aren't afraid to change up their sound. Under the Storm has the best balance between vocal and rap and I particularly enjoy when the two overlap at 3.55. It's video also shows the fun personality of the band mimicking classic videos like OK Go's Here It Goes Again and Sinead O Connor's Nothing Compares To You. I love how they put their own humorous twist on these ideas. The video also randomly involves a horse, boat, roller blades and a casino experience where the band lose all their money 'unbeknownst to their label'... This randomness totally deserves a watch right?

I am ashamed of myself that I hadn't heard of this guys earlier. They have supported the likes of Twin Atlantic, All Time Low, The Blackout, Professor Green... these just a few among the list of famous names. I have seen all these bands listed above more times than I can count and yet I have never once crossed paths with the LaFontaines until now.. how disappointing of me. However now I have, I am 100% certain I will remain a loyal fan and forever have their tracks on my iPod. Class is their first studio album released this year and had already climbed to number 10 on the Scottish Albums Chart and 98 on the UK Albums Chart within its first week of sales. Not bad for a band named after the American voice over actor Don LaFontaine.. I highly recommend you give these guys a listen, and seeing as you have read my entire article at this point you might aswell.

//King

//Junior Dragon

//Under the Storm