Track Of The Day: Double Helix – ‘Rat Rave’

A euphoric combination of jagged electronics and pulsating beats, London duo Double Helix have shared their debut single ‘Rat Rave’. Self-produced by the band and released via Slow Dance Records, the track is an intoxicating blend of driving rhythms and erratic synths that form a backdrop for uninhibited pleasure, propelled by the lyrical mantra of “Pain, Figure, Pressure, Obey.”

Formed of Patrick Smith (synths, programming, vocals), Kim Engelhardt (bass) and live drummer James Allix (Tigercub), Double Helix cut their teeth on London’s underground gig circuit where they developed a loyal following. Their eclectic live shows fuse together the sounds and aesthetics of 90s rave subculture and manic punk energy and often include footage and visuals shot by the band themselves. Inspired by Prodigy, Leftfield, Nine Inch Nails and Boy Harsher, Double Helix offer listeners a sonic escape with their unconventional sounds, with debut single ‘Rat Rave’ providing just that.

Accompanied by a striking video, shot and directed by Smith, the band explain the context of the track and visuals further: “We wanted to create this inverted, surreal world where the juxtaposition of pain and euphoria are represented by shifts in colour. The girl in the video is an artist we know who has a hidden disability and crafts these resin sculptures from packaging of pain medication she takes. She is also a badass party goer despite this, which inspired us to feature her along with the sculptures and create this solitary, stylised day in the life of our friend.”

Watch the video for ‘Rat Rave’ below.

Double Helix play Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes in Shoreditch on 3rd February.
Tickets here

Follow Double Helix on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Peaness – ‘How I’m Feeling’

Having just announced the release of their debut album, and with acclaim from the likes of Marc Riley on BBC 6Music and Maximo Park’s Paul Smith, Chester trio Peaness have shared a new taster of what’s to come from the upcoming LP. 

Following their buoyant last single ‘What’s The Use?’, ‘How I’m Feeling‘ is propelled by a sunny, playful energy as it offers a reflection on the self-loathing and melancholy that can come from being stuck in an unfulfilling job, whilst offering a glistening sense of hope that, with a bit of determination, you can make a positive change. Oozing glossy, honey-sweet vocals and uplifting, jangling hooks, it’s a perfectly vibrant blast of shimmering punk-pop, set to cheer even the dreariest of January days.

Watch the quirky, cute new video for ‘How I’m Feeling’ here:

World Full Of Worry, the debut album from Peaness, is set for release on 6th May via the band’s own Totally Snick Records. Pre-order here.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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Track Of The Day: Spurge feat. Bri Foxx – ‘Why Would You?’

Having met in the Atlanta underground scene, queer feminist artists Bri Foxx and Jen Hodges decided to join forces after playing a show together in their respective bands. And now, we’re super excited to share the outcome of their collaboration – Spurge‘s catchy new single!

A song that carries the weight of failed relationships in its core, ‘Why Would You?‘ has a simple but relatable premise. The track as a whole is executed in a way that takes the familiar stab of heartache and draws out the raw and powerful emotions within.

The song reflects on relationships, written from a healthier place. The lyrics juxtapose a heartbroken chorus against wiser, more contemplative verses which creates a moving narrative – a story of growth following pain, only to revisit that same sorrow with another person later on. The fact that the separate sections were written during very different emotional times in the writer’s life is evident in the rich texture of the song. It makes for a more powerful piece that encapsulates the moments of pain in the context of a positive, hopeful journey. There is a cycle to it, but one that delicately balances the resignation to start over with a great sense of hope that next time will be the one.

The vocals pair elegantly with the feeling in the lyrics. You can really feel the rawness and the power in the lead line, whilst backing vocals lend weight to the emotional high points in the track – the hardest parts of the conversation that herald the end of a relationship. Every never and don’t go and why would you feels ripped from the moment.

This is bolstered by instruments that flow together really well. The string lines running through the track are playful and catchy, ramping up into very fun interludes that give the song a lot of energy.

‘Why Would You?’ ends with the lead vocal, alone, holding one final, powerful note. It clings to that emotional feeling down to the very last beats, lingering like the memory of an old love.

‘Why Would You?’ is accompanied by a gritty live video, directed by Tyree Smith and Daniel Medina. Watch it here:

Kirstie Summers
@actuallykurt

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ALBUM: Boy Harsher – ‘The Runner’

On their new album The Runner, Boy Harsher expand the remit of their work, situating their signature dark electro-pop amid a set of alternative avenues implied, but unexplored in their earlier offerings. It comes in part as a response to the domestic setting imposed over the Covid years, which took away the natural context for the creation of what they refer to as “club music”. The process going into the project also served as a form of catharsis for the duo in the face of their own personal struggles, with Jae Matthews’ MS diagnosis in particular being cited by the group in discussing the release.

The 28-minute album is framed as a soundtrack to an accompanying short film created by the band. Under the proudly displayed banner of an Official Soundtrack, the duo lean into the sense of drama and shadow created by their music. Opener ‘Tower’ sets out the stall, with ribbons of synth pulse, heartbreakingly unravelling around the mantra ‘you don’t want to know me,’ before eventually exploding into an epic, howling climax. Other tracks like the closing pair ‘Untitled’ and ‘I Understand’ offer time for the listener to breathe and create a sense of narrative within the music, even in isolation from its intended visual accompaniment.

The form also provides a context for excursions into a range of genres, which gives the album the pace of jukebox soundtracks like Morvern Callar and Jubilee (the latter evidently a key influence on the film itself, as the recently released ‘Machina’ section shows.) This effect is heightened by the inclusion of other voices to Matthews on the album, which furthers its dynamic range. Alongside alternately danceable and ambient tracks credited solely to Boy Harsher are features from Mariana Saldaña on ‘Machina’, a robot rock floor-filler, and Cooper B. Handy (aka Lucy) on the antiheroic anthem ‘Autonomy’, a great would-be retro-futuristic pop tune made unique by their distinctive voice and its spartan production treatment.

The unusual conceptual approach to this album makes for a compelling and refreshingly various collection of songs. In spite of its brevity, we find ourselves on a genuinely cinematic journey across these 8 tracks. Perhaps what is most impressive is its assimilation of this new range of sounds and the voices of other artists into something that still feels distinctively like a Boy Harsher release, an impressive feat given the difference in approach and context for its creation. In creating The Runner universe, complete with the motion picture, the duo have managed to craft a world for their music to inhabit in the absence of its natural real-life context.

Boy Harsher’s new album The Runner is released on 21st Jan via Nude Club/City Slang

Follow Boy Harsher on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Jordan Hemmingway

Lloyd Bolton

@franklloydwleft
@lloyd_bolton

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