"Late Again" by Earlybird
Review
This review is extremely fresh being of a debut single by a band whom I've not yet seen live yet and ironically I have seen more great photos of the members (thanks to a prolific & highly imaginative shoot by Émilie Cotterill) than I've heard songs by Earlybird. Thankfully we now have "Late Again" to listen to, so I'll try & describe it to you.
Earlybird are Andy Mort, Ben Munday, and Jon Mort. Even if their new name is as yet unfamiliar to you, you may, like me, have encountered Andy & Ben as Atlum Schema and during that phase in their careers they released five studio albums and performed alongside The Enemy, Noah and the Whale, Post War Years, David Knopfler, and Son of Dave, among many others.
This first release was apparently edited down into a tight track from the longer electronic jams which the trio collaborated on to begin with. I have to say the first thing I'd like to comment on is their ability to edit & to create really well focused "proper songs" from such a process: my first instinct is that twenty minute jams can produce many things but not necessarily such succinct & frankly accessible pieces: this is in fact a genuinely memorable electro-pop song & stands up well against any other current commercial release. The band cite all sorts of highly commendable influences (not necessarily purely musical) such as Orbital, Sigur Ros, Hot Chip or even David Lynch and the concept of soundscapes as implied does feature on this single, but as a platform for the lyrics. They also cite Radiohead & in my opinion this song is considerably more accessible than that band. This is a really well crafted way of setting out their stall & deserves to do well. I can so no reason at all as to why it should not acquire mainstream media play with its creative melodicism & tasteful sound. There is not a gram of flab nor self indulgence on display here. You could dance to it too providing you have more skills in that direction than I do.
The arrangement & production are refreshingly uncluttered with all elements very clearly discernible & what I like about the ending is its abruptness: while so many tracks in this genre tail off into long fades without much resolution, "Late Again" comes to an unexpected close, leaving you questions to ask yourself.
