If you’ve heard any of the other tracks that Birmingham based duo First Frontier have released so far from their brand new debut EP, you might have an inkling of what to expect from ‘Insist‘; but the relatively gentle opening bars do not prepare you for the depth and power the duo have managed to inject into their latest song.Whether you’re familiar with their work or not, though, you can make the reasonable assumption that this is a track that is going to stay with you.
From the beginning, ‘Insist’ is made of the kind of stuff that seeps into your mind and lingers, though not in a way that is at all unwelcome. The track builds until the rich, wailing guitar and throbbing drum beat uplift the comparatively soft vocals. The song as a whole encapsulates the churning, roiling emotion that both causes and is hidden by the stoic exterior of someone who would never let on, on the outside.
‘Insist’ is a love song – though it’s not like other love songs in many ways you might expect, but it still has a very recognisable emotion. Instead of treating the hypothetical lover in the song as an object of pursuit, First Frontier makes them the inspiration to grow: it depicts love as a driving motivator.
The lyrics are simple but heart-wrenching. The way the two vocal lines echo around each other create an image of the relationship that exists. One is tempted by the kind of desperate decisions that can destroy a life, while the other is beckoning them towards better, healthier things. Together they evoke an incredibly vivid picture of someone in the depths of despair, but who is starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel. This is the kind of love that hurts, but it’s the kind of pain that you can channel into growth and use it to propel you to a better place.
First Frontier use a simple combination of just guitar, drums and vocals to create a unique and moving sound. ‘Insist’ a genuinely beautiful song – it aches to be consoled, but leaves you confident that there is hope very nearby.
Just Matter, the debut EP from First Frontier, is out now! Listen here.
Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt
Get In Her Ears 
Published by