W: Karl Watson
tripped of the noise, the lights, and the labels, what remains is the music that truly matters. The Lifeboat Playlist is a raw, deep dive into the sonic DNA of the artists featured in ASBO, forcing them to choose the ten definitive tracks they’d carry into isolation. It’s a survival kit built on gut-level resonance, a collection of anthems, heartbreaks, and high-octane riffs that define a lifetime. From stadium-sized roars to vulnerable late-night confessions, these are the songs that keep the fire burning when everything else fades away.
For Visual Language, these ten tracks aren’t just influences, they’re blueprints. They represent the standards the band measures themselves against and the exact kind of songwriting that made them pick up instruments in the first place. Each selection captures something essential—ambition, heavy atmosphere, driving melody, or sheer conviction, forming the foundation of how Visual Language approaches writing and performing today.
'Old Photographs By The Shore', the debut track by Visual Language, is streaming now.
Read more here: Fading Film, Reverb, and Fragile Realism: Introducing Visual Language - ASBO Magazine
Rolo Tomassi – Aftermath
One of my best friends passed away in 2025, and I used to remind myself of a lyric from this song every day — and still do when I need it: “don’t blame all that is lost, we revive
ourselves.” That lyric is basically why I started Visual Language — so I could revive myself. Beyond that, the balance of beauty, aggression and scale in their music is
incredible.
Blue Roses – I Wish I…
This song stops me in my tracks every time I hear it. Laura’s voice is stunning in its demonstration of strength and fragility. The lyrics are heartbreaking, and she makes you feel like you’re right there with her. If you’re not blubbing by the end of this, then you’ve
not got a soul.
Elliott Smith – Between the Bars
The thing I immediately loved about Elliott Smith was the layering of his vocals to create this weightless, chorused effect. The vocal recording on this song is sensational,
creating an incredible sense of space.
Sebadoh – Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)
File under raw and intimate. Like several other songs on the list, there’s an ambiguity to the lyrics that I find really compelling.
Julee Cruise – Falling
Ticking two Visual Language boxes here — dream pop song used in Twin Peaks? —tick. The melancholy; the hope. I love the use of repetition in the opening line, as it serves as a mantra rather than just a catchy lyric: “don’t let yourself be hurt this time.”
Perfection.
Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll
This is the first Cocteau Twins song where I got it. The vocals are like silk, and the ending is an amazing wash of cinematic noise. I also love that Elizabeth developed her own language to express the lyrics — utterly unique.
Beach House – Lazuli
My favourite song from one of my favourite albums. An amazing gig at the Roundhouse on the Bloom tour. The breakdown and the way it builds back up into that crescendo,
with the lyric “like no other, you can't be replaced”, is just poetry.
The Postal Service – This Place is a Prison
One of the first electronic albums I got into. Lovely whispered vocals hold the whole song together as the glitches build around them, eventually giving way to the strings at the end. There’s a lot of space in this song, and it taught me the importance of not
always filling it
Purity Ring – Pink Lightning
The ten years between seeing Purity Ring at the Roundhouse in London and then at SoDo Showbox in Seattle were absolutely worth the wait. Pink Lightning is the opening
track on WOMB, the album they released just before the pandemic, so the subsequent tour was cancelled and I thought I’d never get to see them again. When they finally
played this in Seattle last October, I had a proper moment to myself.
Björk – Crystalline
I saw Björk at Alexandra Palace on the Biophilia tour and Crystalline really stood out. Hypnotic, with a great melody and so many textures and little details. Plus, her live drummer absolutely battered the living bejeezus out of the drum kit at the end, which always makes me happy.