Amy's Fresh Meet: The High Wire
The High Wire are a band that I reckon we'll hear much more off in the next few months. The London trio released a rather lovely single called 'Odds & Evens' (below) before the New Year, and it caught my ear (delicately).
It's a ridiculously simple acoustic pop tune that meanders along with no real aim. But its fuzz-laden guitar, whimsical dual male/female vocals, shimmering jangly guitar notes and floating repetition actually make it a dreamy fuzzy golden nugget.
What surprised me though, was discovering that The High Wire were hand-picked to support Coldplay on their stadium tour last winter - including a date at the Odyssey. Now I wasn't there, but I can't imagine a band like The High Wire fairing too well in an arena sized venue - maybe I'm wrong?
The vocals are delicate, the guitars fuzzy, the rhythms simple and the synths/organs drown out so much it's easy to see why they're being called 'shoegaze'. Comparisons to My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Mercury Rev have been uttered, and although in a lot of the aesthetics I agree, there's a very different backbone to The High Wire in my eyes - one routed more in traditional singer/songwriting.
Having got a sneaky listen to the album, 'The Sleep Tape' (to be released in March), I can hear a mixture of influences throughout: an unpolished Zero 7/Groove Armada in the opening track 'The Midnight Bell', 'Letting the Light' recalling elements of the Beatles 'Don't Let Me Down', and the Jesus & Mary Chain/ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club riff forming the basis of 'A Future Ending' - all mixed with a heavy dose of 60s sunshine pop.
Overall, the High Wire aren't gonna change the world but let them soundtrack your day in the background, soak up the sunny atmosphere and enjoy the comforting, long, poptastic drone. Perfect for these dark, cold winter nights.
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DOWNLOAD A FREE TRACK FROM THE HIGH WIRE:Odds & Evens
To download the track above, right click on the link and choose 'Save Target As'
(if you're using a Mac it's Ctrl+click)
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