L.S. Dunes - Violet

When a - quote marks here - ‘supergroup’ emerges from the alternative music world, expectations tend to tower like totemic statues to legends past. L.S. Dunes have spent their brief existence ducking those expectations, choosing instead to carve their own path through the musical wilderness. Their second album ‘Violet’ represents both a departure and an arrival - shedding the weighty darkness of their debut while illuminating a different route through.

Lead single ‘Machines’ sparkles with an infectious energy that belies its mechanical name. Anthony Green’s distinctive vocals remain the band’s lightning rod, though here they’re deployed with greater restraint and vulnerability. On ‘Paper Tigers’, he trades his signature screams for melodic introspection, allowing the band’s instrumental interplay to carry equal emotional weight.

‘Violet’ isn’t the straightforward evolution some might have expected from L.S. Dunes. Instead, it’s a sideways step into more expansive territory, trading raw catharsis for considered composition. While not every experiment lands perfectly, there’s something admirable about a band of veterans still willing to push themselves beyond familiar ground.

The result is an album that feels less like a statement of intent and more like a snapshot of artists in motion - not quite where they were, not quite where they’re going, but fascinating in its state of becoming. Like its namesake colour, ‘Violet’ exists somewhere between two distinct states, creating something new in the space between.