Indie-pop sounds of 3am sadness

Everyone knows the feeling of a digital glow reminding you it‰’s too early for you to still be awake as you stare blankly at your ceiling. Life Boat should be the soundtrack to those nights. Every song off this debut album explores some facet of loneliness and the anguish it brings, though not from musical melancholy. Early Morning Rebel focus heavily on lyrical strength and prose, pouring heartbreaking honesty into their songs without any hint of commercial cliche. To further add to the hauntingly gorgeous melodic theme, the album keeps all instrumentals to a minimum. Simple repetitive guitar chords, light cello, the occasional piano countermelody, a whisper of bass or drum to edge the song along- little life boats to carry the tune across a rocky exploration of emptiness. Even the melodies are stripped bare, lacking harmonies or excessive composition and continuing without any sort of definitive end (literally, not only is the sadness not answered in the entire album, but no song ends with melodic resolution.) Early Morning Rebel give their 3am thoughts a semblance of purpose by sharing them with the world. Sometimes the best thing you can tell yourself is that you are not alone in being alone. Life Boat is there for the reminder that other people feel this too.

RIYL: Bear Attack, General Ghost, Nico Stai
Recommended: 1, 3, 4