I discovered Lies via my good friend Nico over at Shoredive Records in Brighton. He gave me the briefest of introductions to the band. He said “Slowcore + dreampop + post-rock, from Italy.” Frankly that sounded like heaven to me so couldn’t wait to hit play on this. I had to do a bit of digging to find out more about the band first.
Bologna based trio Lies began with Elisa on vocals and drums and Giuseppe on guitar and vocals exchanging ideas at a distance during the lockdown years. Once Daniel joined on bass, those early conversations grew into a three piece with a clearer sense of identity. Their self produced, self titled EP followed in 2025, setting out an intimate form of slowcore that could open into harsher guitar noise whenever the songs demanded it. This, their second EP, Burning Wires, Silent Pull, arrives through Shoredive Records, a label that’s a hallmark for musical excellence. Slowcore provides the foundation for the bands sound, while dream pop softness, post rock scale and shoegaze noise enter as colours and textures within the songs. The trio keep the playing economical and let the emotional weight gather at its own pace.
Sounds like an awesome combo. I’m in. Let’s hit play.
‘Spectrograph’ is a very assured opener, with a vocal performance that feels surefooted, slow and steady. The guitars and drums begin sparsely, leaving Daniel’s bass to feed the melody and establish the song’s emotional direction. That decision gives the lower register an unusual amount of room, and the track feels settled before the rest of the arrangement has fully appeared. There are touches of Radiohead in the chord changes, especially in the way familiar chords take on an uneasy colour as they resolve. An English sensibility also runs through the melancholy, giving the song a grey, inward character that remains light on its feet. The measured vocal delivery keeps you close to every turn, and the band leave each open space wonderfully intact. It was love at first listen for me, and repeated plays have only strengthened that first response.
The angles become sharper on ‘Wires’. Elisa takes the lead vocal over pulsing guitar figures and drums with a mechanical quality, creating a controlled tension from the opening seconds. Giuseppe’s guitar work has a clipped, jagged edge, while Daniel gives the song a steady centre beneath it. The arrangement feels alert, as though every beat has been placed with its eventual absence in mind. When the chorus arrives, much of that structure falls away and Elisa’s voice rises above minimal backing. The sudden reduction in sound gives the melody greater force and changes how you hear the verses when they return. A harmony vocal then enters and adds warmth without softening the unease already present. Lies understand that volume has greater impact when silence has prepared the way, and ‘Wires’ proves how well they can control that exchange.
‘Black Mud’ begins like a lullaby sung towards the night sky. Its opening glimmers with a fragile calm, allowing the melody to settle before the guitar arrives with fuzz and a low snarl. The title finds its musical counterpart in that change, as the song becomes thicker and dirtier and retains the delicacy of its first moments. Lies make both sides of the arrangement belong together. The softer passages establish intimacy, and the rougher guitar gives that intimacy a physical edge. Brief pauses leave squealing feedback exposed, turning the gaps into active parts of the performance. Those interruptions make you sit up because the band have already trained your ear to notice small movements. By the end, ‘Black Mud’ feels bruised and beautiful.
Giuseppe leads the vocal on closing track ‘Star On Drugs’, his voice gives the EP a fresh perspective. The gently picked guitar and close harmony vocals bring Slowdive to mind, particularly in the warmth created by simple parts overlapping with care. There is an immediate tenderness here that made me smile, and the restrained delivery keeps a thread of melancholy running through the song. Bass and drums respond to the sparse arrangement with patience. Each contribution supports the melody, and every pause has enough room to register. The trio sound completely comfortable sharing the available space, with every performance serving the song. As the final notes pass, the EP closes in a mood that feels calm, affectionate and slightly unresolved. That last detail encourages another play, since ‘Spectrograph’ sounds even stronger when it follows directly after this gentle ending.
Across its four songs, Burning Wires, Silent Pull finds Lies becoming more precise about what their music needs. Restraint gives the melodies room, distortion arrives with purpose, and the vocals bring a human closeness to arrangements built from relatively few parts. The changes between softness and noise feel connected to the emotional movement of each song, so the heavier moments carry meaning beyond their volume. I keep returning to the bass throughout the EP, since it often supplies the melody while guitar and drums decide how much light to let into the surrounding space. Elisa and Giuseppe also give the record two distinct vocal viewpoints, with Daniel providing a steady presence beneath both. Fifteen minutes can pass quickly, yet these songs leave enough detail behind to reward another visit. Lies have made a second EP with its own quiet current, and you may find those wires humming in your head long after the music ends.
Burning Wires, Silent Pull is out now via Shoredive Records. You can check it out over on the Bandcamp page.
You can follow Lies on social media here…
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