Luke Rathborne
Dog Years/I Can Be One
(Dilettante)
There’s something undeniably classic about Luke Rathborne’s sound. Though only 22 years old, the dreamy vocals and slow, intoxicating melodies on the mellow rocker’s double EP sound like they belong in the 1960’s rather than today. He’s still able to incorporate a full band into his sound, occasionally dabbling in some distortion or even orchestration, but stripped back, the central element of each EP is Rathborne’s emotional voice with his distinctive heart-on-sleeve rasp.
No slot is wasted on these offerings though. On Dog Years. The title track take a Beatlesesque tone, particularly with a few well-placed “sha la la’s.” “Pantomime Fear†has a slow burn feeling to it, reminiscent of Oasis at their most vulnerable.
On I Can Be One, the opener is much more subdued than the previous work, as whispered vocals land on top of fragile piano and strings to create a gorgeous piece of work. The tracks that follow are much more melodic and stripped back. The EPs complement one another wonderfully, showing just two facets of a musician who clearly only has room to grow into his apparent talents.
