"wisteria" by What About Eric?
Review
As I started pulling my thoughts together for this article, what struck me was just how many really original & dynamic bands I'm writing about these days: most of which have emerged into public consciousness relatively recently yet whose career arcs are already gravity defying. I stopped & thought & honestly I can't think of another equivalent explosion locally since the 1977-9 one.
This leads me onto issues of causation & that would probably take too long for this piece but clearly initiatives like the Tin/Coventry Music "Live on Stage" project is a major one for some (but not all) of these bands: another is how they all support & encourage each other. Which is not something I've witnessed as much of in the past.
The subject of this review, What About Eric? are definitely at the forefront of this phenomenon and the longer 2025 goes on, the more frequently I see their name on concert posters: everyone wants them on their bill it seems.
Where they, and several of the other bands of this ilk are playing a bit of catch-up is matching live acclaim to recorded product: which is what they need to help build a wider circle of fandom beyond our area.
Much of this seems to be caused by the same level of quality control which no doubt informs the live act: they refuse to demean their great songs by over hasty recording. Perfection is the key.
You may know their debut single "cascade" (I seem to be reviewing more & more records disdaining upper case which is another motif for this current era it seems) not least because we featured it on ‘Hot Music Live Presents Volume Fourteen' and now Libbi, Joe, Noah and Ethan are back with its follow-up "wisteria" which comes out today. They tell me that it's been written a good year & they are delighted that it's finally out (though given the number of gigs, you must have heard it already).
In fact I think it's worked out well for them: yes this is definitely the moment to build yet more momentum by dropping a new single, but I'd like to think that some aspects of it are themselves enhanced by this progress.
If you've seen them play (you should) then you'll have noticed their stage presence is continually growing and therefore it was highly desirable that this release reflected the restless energy which itself gets alchemised into the intensity which is at the core of their material & their attraction. Which of course Mason Le Long, their producer, captures here.
So how come such a band of brooding glamour are writing about a climbing plant? It hardly seems their sort of territory. Well it's a metaphor I suppose. Wisteria (the flora) clings tightly to support and can overwhelm what it uses: despite being attractive to look at (and even smell). Can you see where this might profitably go in a song? It seems that What About Eric? can.
The other key dynamic the band exhibit is the tension between the exciting squalls of instrumental sound & the majestic, measured sense of control in Libbi's singing as if she's never going to be tempted to tear away off in pursuit of the music. I have cited the Jesus & Mary Chain in comparison before & "wisteria" more than validates this.
Given these potent forces & Libbi's preference for the allusive over the mundane in the lyrics, the overall tone is impressively impressionistic: the band's impact can overwhelm you & leave you at the end of the set altered from the state in which you came in.
One of the many promoters with whom they are working currently describes them as "young Cov upstarts" which makes sense given the rate & profile of their rise: what they are doing is helping shake things right up.
You can catch them live & experience the effects for yourself
today at CovTember
and then on 26th at the Priory Visitor Centre (with, among others, HomeBread)
on 18th October they play at Just Dropped In for Concrete Fun House's album launch
and that is just the tip of an iceberg: look out for several more dates to come.
