Some bands demand your attention. This band is one of them. LA-based duo Highland Kites is finessing something honest here, and we need to listen. The brainchild of singer/songwriter Marissa Lamar and drummer Neil Briggs, Highland Kites is introducing you to a new experience. They’re taking you on a journey through their lives into this new anti-folk, indie extravaganza. Their latest single “Let Me Run,” the title track of their latest EP, is a chapter of their indie rock confessions.
While an earlier track of Highland Kite’s “This War Inside” laments an internal struggle, “Let Me Run” takes us through an emotional upheaval. It’s a purposeful rebuttal, and it is done so intricately. It’s the type of song you didn’t realize existed, but need to hear.
Highland Kites Impresses With Unique Style
Highland Kites’s track sounds unique in it’s own right. “Let Me Run” is a testament to Highland Kites’s unique style and an introduction to the unpredictable. It’s a wild card. There’s no split second hesitation of “Am I gonna like this song?” It’s more of a “What are they doing and what’s happening next?”
It also helps that this track is as pleasing as a song can be. The band introduces this ambiance that’s the perfect type of overwhelming — from the chime-like dings to the churning guitars — while still letting you know that this is indie rock.
And it is so incredibly impressive to hear such a somber song be able to also be so booming. We’re really taken from this mellow beginning and brought to this cinematic moment. It’s a climax of sound and Highland Kites could not have crafted it any better.
The even more unbelievable revelation of this song (besides how it’s crafted, even though I do love a good backing band) comes from lead singer Marissa Lamar’s idea behind the songs: “[My] goal with music is to make people feel better, even though most of my songs are themed around painful experiences.”
Lamar’s voice is haunting yet hopeful. Neil Briggs’s not only harmonizes perfect backing vocals, but also offers purposeful drum beats. It’s such a sad topic that they manage to finesse into a glowing moment.
Highland Kites serves poetic justice, for lack of a better term, and I’m eating it right up. And with lyrics like theirs, why wouldn’t I? “Believe me when I say / It’s okay / Let me run,” Lamar sings as Briggs hits the cymbals. Honestly, how do you not take those lyrics to heart?
Highland Kites hits your heart where it hurts, in the best possible way. They’re sharing their confessions while you sit in amazement at their production. We only hope that the next chapter they share shows as much passion.
