Pynch: The Market Stage, Truck Festival

Opening the Market Stage early at 11:30 to a very damp Truck Festival were London four-piece Pynch. Having released their debut album ‘Howling At Concrete Moon’ via Chillburn Records back in April, Pynch were looking to kickstart So Young magazines hosting with a bang.

Their set was awash with motoric styles. From Kraftwerk to Jonathan Richman, their tales of being left behind in the modern world eased a sodden crowd into Saturday’s bleak skies. ‘Karaoke’ twisted and turned effortlessly, withstanding its lyrical isolation. They trod a similar path on the anti-greed polemic of ‘London’. Harsher synths and lyrics of despair combined with the pop instincts of Golden Silvers on this satirical reflection of modern city life.

Perhaps the weekend's crowning moment came via their set closer ‘Somebody Else’. Dan Le Sac vs Scroobious Pip beats injected vibrancy and technicolour into their motoric guitars which set about a groove in the huge tent. It was though, through Spencer Enock’s lyrics and guitars that the magic took place.  For so long, an unwritten social contract was present for younger generations. Toil and struggle early on, reap the rewards later. In recent times, no such carrot has been dangled. In fact, a closed sign is almost permanently on display. Mortgages, record deals, travelling, you name it, the boomers had it and took it back. Pynch, like no other, got this across via their melancholic poetry this past Saturday. No matter how hard you try or even succeed, life is just about survival at present (“'Cause this is not what I'm supposed to do / And no one cares where I went to school / It doesn't matter how you get paid / As long as you can make it through the days”). Yet, the Market Stage filled up, it danced, it through fists aloft. It was a tear-inducing moment. The sheer defiance of it all. To be kicked when you when you’re down and still find beauty in the world, in people, and in music, generated enough energy to solve any crisis.

Pynch professed “I wanna die doing what I love / I wanna feel like I'm doing enough” last Saturday. They needn’t worry, they have and they will. A genuine triumphant of the human spirit!

Siracuse – All To You

Cheltenham’s Siracuse follows their fine comeback single ‘Saviour’ with ‘All To You’. Released on Friday, can it stack up to ‘Saviours’ power?

Image & artwork courtesy of the band.

Downtempo from ‘Saviour’ for the most part, Siracuse tap into the earnest power of The Enemy’s acoustic guitars on ‘We’ll Live And Die In These Towns’ and a vocal to rival Liam Gallagher’s search for the celestial.

Lyrically, it’s Siracuse’s finest work to date. Songwriter Ben Zakotti offers guidance to the young and downtrodden to keep on pushing. There’s a power to the lyrics which can only come from a place of love. Perhaps a partner or a child, something that binds you forever through thick and thin!

The gentle amble erupts into life akin to DMA’s ‘Lay Down’ and ‘Feels Like 37’ in the closing stages. A moment of chaos and melody come together to light up the love in Zakotti’s heart.

Where ‘Saviour’ spiralled with personal intent to escape for today, ‘All To You’ inspires tomorrow. Two singles into 2023, Siracuse are becoming utterly unmissable!

Click the image below for tickets to see Siracuse at this years Lakfest:

Mull Historical Society – Room of Masks

Scotland’s Mull Historical Society aka Colin McIntyre returned with his new single ‘Room Of Masks’. Featuring lyrics from crime writer Val McDermid, ‘Room Of Masks’ was released last Friday via Xtra Mile Recordings. Banner image courtesy of Sonic PR.

Artwork by John MacLean (Beta Band)

McIntyre, forever seeking new creative avenues for his blessed songwriting tasked McDermid to pen lyrics about a room with significant meaning. In return, McDermid reflected upon the bedroom which gave those formative years of musical discovery.

McIntyre’s sonic accompaniment is an effortless piece of magic. Dawn-lit guitars akin to Noah and Whale’s masterpiece ‘First Days of Spring’ glisten and build to hymnal euphoria. The gentle build documents McDermid’s teenage escapism from her working-class Fife backdrop.

A fine return to form a criminally underrated songwriter! McIntyre’s new album ‘In My Mind There’s A Room’ will be released 21st of July and will feature other authors such as Ian Rankin, Nick Hornby, Jacqueline Wilson, Jennifer Clement, Sebastian Barry, Alan Warner, Jason Mott, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochhead, and Stephen Kelman.

Gazelle – Lady Blue Sky

Leicester’s Gazelle are back with their new single ‘Lady Blue Sky’. Produced by Matt Cotterill, it marks the run towards their hometown gig at the OMC.

Image & artwork courtesy of the band

Post-lockdown, Gazelle have been in a transformative mood sonically. The early bombast of ‘Finger On The Trigger’ and ‘Have You Found Forever Now?’ has matured, still loitering with intent but now shrouded in nodes of Motown, northern soul, Johnny Marr licks, and flashes of Noel Gallagher’s HFB melancholic songwriting.  On ‘Lady Blue Sky’ they’ve added psyche to their ever-growing repertoire.

The playful trips of Weller’s ‘Sonic Kicks’ hook up with the atmospheric grooves of Kasabian’s first three albums and the muscular immediacy of The Rifles. Stealing the show of this instant classic though is the array of backing vocals.

Drummer Danny Wright’s “ba ba ba’s” set the groove running before frontman Ryan Dunn calls upon Serge Pizzorno’s understated soaring melodies to take the band to another level. It is though, Dunn’s higher pitch backing vocal in the closing stages which take this single from good to great. Blessed with the mesmeric soul power of Noel’s ‘Black Star Dancing’. The only thing that could take it higher would be the dearly departed Denise Johnson.

If 2022’s run of singles wasn’t firm enough proof, ‘Lady Blue Sky’ is the confirmation that Gazelle are the real Deal!

Click the image below for tickets to their headline outdoor gig in Leicester: