CALM

Originating from various parts of the UK and basing themselves in South London, CALM are made up of Adam James, Jack Gee, Louie Cameron and Mark Zanna.

Let’s see what they have been up to:

Vivid

They’ve taken Ride’s psyche meets shoegaze classic ‘Seagull’ and condensed it into a punchier three-minute single. Other Creation Records influences lurk here with jangle of mid-career Felt and the spiky side C86 of Jasmine Minks.

A rehash this is not though. ‘Vivid’ is firmly planted in the modern world and has more pop clarity the aforementioned. It’s crisp and defiant, a sure thing on the alternative scene.

What You Saying

The hallmarks of Ride are here again. Much like their Aussie peers DMA’s, they are dragging the early 90s in to the modern day with some Foals-esque licks.

Their underlying sense of rebellion is striking. Whilst making accessible alternative tunes, there is a feeling of ‘us vs the world’ surrounding them. Encouragingly, they have flirted with shoegaze, punk, and jangle pop here, and their identity continually shines through.

INDIGOs

Between 1990 and 1992, the pendulum of rock music was swinging from the British shoegaze of MBV and Ride to the American grunge of Sonic Youth and Nirvana. In 2019, Bristol duo INDIGOs have decided to set the pendulum in the middle.

Let’s check out what Jack Croft and Sophia Barnes have been up to:

Rebirth

At the heart of this alternate reality is a great pop song. Croft and Barnes have an angelic vocal touch, even amidst the distortion. Breakdowns are hazy and guitar solos are dirty and infectious, various generations of BBC6 are set to be enthralled.

It's all in the colour It's all in the colour You're painting by numbers It's making me wonder whose finger you're under It's all in the makeup It's all in the makeup The way that you wake up You're saving face, you know the one that you made up Feel... Feel love It's all in the colour To love like a mother To look into blind eyes And narrate the sunrise Reveal the Rebirth Feel... Feel love Feel Feel love Fear not We've got the goods Fear not We got it

Breathe In

Leaning towards their love of grunge, the enthusiasm of the big riffs is inescapable. Not content to put out a solid rock number, they twist and turn it through their shoegaze prism and deliver Mercury Award level underdog.

Inhale Exhale Don't waste a thing Can you feel me? Go deep Within It tastes like Spring I can feel you Breathe In It could go either way It's supposed to be Fate I read The trees They sing to me I'm not crazy Birds with no wings Get good at running, at running, at running Breathe In Can you lend me a wing? I don't wanna have to steal again Weighing me down I'm going in circles again I'm so tired I'm so tired I'm so tired of running (Of running) (Running around again) Breathe In Breathe In

*Image courtesy of Gilbert Pillbrow