#18: Escapists

New Narcotic of the Day #18:

Escapists

I have no idea where Escapists escaped from (blah-bad-punning-time) but wherever it is, I am damn sure they are missing the group of vivacious four young males who hail from London and craft a melodious mixture of indie rock and upbeat folk pop, stuck together with a confident sense and sensibility, barricading itself in the riffs and percussive elements of their tracks.

'Longest Day ' begins by moving into Arcade Fire territory with it's steadily expanding instrumentation, touching the memory synapses in just the right way, before moving into something slightly harsher, in the vein of We Were Promised Jetpacks. 'New York' is an ode to my future home (if I have anything to do with it, god damn it!), spinning out a catchy tale of Big Apple romance, whilst 'Ghosts' is a Warpaint-esque drift through ethereal , low-key plucking and harmoniously haunting vocal strains that end by floating ever upwards to the heavens.

Escapists have a bunch of demos to absorb and a host of gigs upcoming in the capital, including a show at the World's End on February 17th.

Escapists' Soundcloud

Escapist's Myspace

Longest Day (DEMO) by Escapistsmusic

Albums of 2010: #4: The Fool

#4: 'The Fool' by Warpaint

Warpaint have been around, in altered forms, since around 2004 and an EP released last year ignited the blogosphere with ravings of the supernatural stylings offered forth by the LA girl gang. And now an album exists, titled ‘The Fool’, with over half of the tracks spread out idly over five minutes yet this extensively straining sound is barely noticeable, such is the subdued ferocity that the album emits. The whole thing seeps by, filtered through layers and layers of archaic mysticism. Backing vocals embed themselves as an extra instrument, recalling choral command via spiritual rituals of old. The band drift between a Siouxsie-style gloom and a Sonic Youth growl with each passing refrain, two comparisons that still ring far from the peculiar display of euphonic whisperings on offer.

Each song title remains a short, sharp jab of similarity to the sound, in contrast to the winding, weaving, unwrapping five minute wanderings behind the name. ‘Shadows’ spins into life with the resonance of a warped record, crawling in the shade of a thick woodland cover beneath a starless eve. Opener ‘Warpaint’ strums a Joy Division throb with an unfathomably sultry vocal stride. ‘Undertow’ is a power play, with hints of seventies stoner rock and dashes of melodic indie pop combining to form an painstakingly sublime six minute ode to bitterness, where Warpaint drag you with them the whole way down.

The record treads the line between winter and autumn, full of frosty detachment and chilly uncertainty. ‘The Fool’ is an album to curl up with in the witching hour, with a fire burning and something hallucinogenic in the air. Warpaint are four females who have pursued a sound that unites melancholy and magic, beautifully haunting and enchanting in equal measure. In doing so, they have devised one of the albums of 2010, taking some sound supposedly sensual and slicing out all of the romantic lust until you’re left with an animalistic iciness.