"Silhouettes" by Project Overload

Project Overload have been dubbed "Coventry's best new band" by observers & it's not difficult to understand why. I've been a champion of their music on record and stage from the moment I heard them: I didn't need any persuading and it seems no one else does too.

Although their debut album ‘New Beginnings' which came out last year to considerable acclaim (not least in ‘Hot Music Live') featured tracks recorded both by the current "classic" lineup and a few by a slightly different embryonic one, it's worth considering the confidence of a band in their teens & the belief of producer Mason Le Long in them to put out such a collection so early in their career. This band have always been able to come up with consistently high quality original material. Not for them the (understandable) need to reinforce their sets with covers, though the occasional one is performed with as much aplomb as their own.

In fact Emily, Callum, Joe, Tom and Lucas, as the release of their second album looms, already have more original songs than an average setlist can accommodate. However this did allow them the opportunity of a ninety minute (yes really) set at Also Known As in Banbury at the end of January

As a harbinger of that next album, their new single "Silhouettes" is released on Valentine's Day. If you've seen them live recently, then you'll have heard them play it (though the title came to them after it made its first appearance in the setlist) so it's been honed through performance & then further polished to perfection in the studio with Mason. You may have also already heard it on BBC Radio: another testament to the regard in which they are held.

As with the best bands, Project Overload, despite having made their name with a signature sound, don't want to have a formula and so "Silhouettes", while retaining all their strengths as a band, offers a different sound & demonstrating their range and versatility.

The jangle-pop-rock combination is in evidence, but the tempo has been reined in a bit: with the band "..pulling back a bit, slowing it down and letting Emily's lyrics breathe.." as guitarist Tom says. He also offers the adjective "languid" which is just too good a description not to pass on: I can't better it.

The process of allowing space into songs is, in my opinion, a characteristic which kicks in with the best quality bands once they have developed the necessary self confidence. Initially billing themselves as "bright janglepop with sharp elbows" the brilliance & jangle are still in evidence but this time round the elbows are furled. They perhaps needed them at first to work their way through the crowd but they have everyone's attention now.

That the single eschews the convention of a chorus must also be a signifier of that self belief.

The jangle too works well in this format: in fact the greater space lets it resonate. That said, don't please take the impression that this is necessarily a sparer production. Quite the reverse. Here's more from Tom "we're being more ambitious in the studio and we're challenging ourselves to change the way we play and how we sound" and this includes their first major explorations of overdubs with synths and glockenspiel (which of course complements that jangle well) entering the sonic picture and while Emily's voice still expresses that trademark sense of vulnerability, there are now layers of vocals to hear.

In fact, the creative decisions around the single & Mason's skill in realising them gives us the best chance yet to appreciate the subtleties of the musicianship of each member as well as the overall collectivity.

In fact the evolution of arrangement & this vocal approach articulate the lyrics most effectively: it's a love song (the release date being no coincidence) and optimistic in tone. While audience favourites like "Society's Standards" tend towards coruscating critiques, "Silhouettes" shows the band possess multiple emotional perspectives. I look forward to them unveiling many more as the years go by.

"Silhouettes" is yet another stepping up of creative gear by Project Overload who tend to do so with each move they make. Superb as it is, the exciting thing is knowing how many more heights they have before them.

You can catch Project Overload next at the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' curated fundraiser for The Tin on February 21^st where they'll be joined by The Upsiders, Loophole & Luminae to help raise funds for their "spiritual home"

Tickets are available here:

https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/hot-music-live-presents-project-the-tin-at-the-coal-tickets/14236083