Who remembers the UK based punk band Fletcher? They were one of my favourites back in the day and to this day are a constant go-to when I can't decided what I want to listen to. Their album My Revenge is timeless and listening now it doesn't seem to have aged. Fletcher's front man Lee now resides in Canada and has started a new band named Lee Resistant & The Lost. As a way for the band to fill out their set, Lee Resistant & The Lost used some old Fletcher songs and discovered they still hold up. Because of this, they decide to re-record the songs and give them a new lease of life. I never expected to get the chance to review Fletcher songs on CPRW so as soon as I discovered this EP, titled Thirteen Years Gone By, I was most excited.
Thirteen Years Gone By unsurprisingly begins with Least Resistant which has always been a favourite Fletcher song of mine. It starts out with a short and stabby guitar riff, that always reminded me of an alarm going off, before the full band comes in and the track gets going proper. It's not long before Lee's gravelly vocal comes into play and he begins to take you through an empowering song about standing for what you believe in. Throughout the song Lee asks many questions about the decisions you make and whether they are right or wrong. For The Few is a Fletcher song I wasn't so familiar with. It, in fact, doesn't appear on any of the Fletcher releases that appear online. Feeling a bit more up tempo than the previous song, For The Few has a bit more energy to it. Adding some harmonies and gang vocals give the song an inclusive feeling. This works well with the song’s message, dedicating the track to the people who live their lives in the way that they feel is best.
Wishlist first appeared on the classic Six Track Sound EP. Interestingly Wishlist has been extended by fifteen seconds on Thirteen Years Gone By. The crunching guitars that explode out of your speakers sound as if they've had the volume turned down somewhat allowing Lee's vocals to shine through as well as giving the song a more melodic sound. Something that has remained however is some ferocious drumming which really gives Wishlist a very strong spine that everything else comes off of. Last up is Where Would You Run? Another big favourite of mine. Those opening lyrics of "This is my story, This is my shining glory" still hook me in thirteen years after first hearing them. On my first listen of this new version, I immediately noticed the change in vocals from the original. I'm no expert but it felt as if there was more range in Lee's voice, giving the chorus a whole new lease of life. I also enjoyed the change at the end with the acoustic guitar coming in, giving the song a sombre ending.
It's been wonderful venturing down memory lane while listening to these songs. I'm so glad Lee is back making music again and I'm very keen to see where this takes him and to hear some fresh new material.
Stream and download Thirteen Years Gone By here: https://leeresistantandthelost.bandcamp.com/releases
Like Lee Resistant & The Lost here: https://www.facebook.com/leeresistantandthelost/
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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