The Summer War
Cult of You
Release Date: 12th April 2016
Manchester based trio The Summer War are set to release their new EP ‘Cult of You’ in April and the band are already celebrating with the release of their new single, the first to be released by them in 18 months, entitled ‘Walk With Kings’. On the EP, the band have grown their indie rock sound learning from their previous work and building on that by not resting on their laurels. The last 18 months has seen the band honing their skills by supporting plenty of acts like Electric Six and The Swellers, alongside their own tours. It should be a great 2016 for them with the release of this new EP.
Guitar strums build wonderfully to bring us into ‘Walk With Kings’ as deep, sludgy chords grow ever more prominent. Hard hit drums and almost shouted vocals come in adding an urgency to this track that remains from start to finish. Things really kick in around the halfway mark as crashing cymbals and fast guitar riffs create a rock and roll atmosphere to finish this first song wonderfully.
It’s a calmer opening to ‘When The Moon Said Goodbye To The Sun’ as high-pitched guitar notes weave their way around your ears preceding the chugging bass line, fuzzy mini guitar riffs and building drum beat. The track picks up considerably as the emotion starts to build in the lyrics and the vocal delivery sees an authoritative voice sitting perfectly alongside huge riffs and pounding drums. That’s all before everything quitens to a middle eight of soft, ambient chords and distant vocals but thankfully, the music crashes back in for one final hurrah.
Rapid beats and a drawn out guitar line open up ‘The Garden’ giving you a chance to really appreciate this one and hear the intricacies within the band’s great music. Vocals are at their most harmonious so far here as notes rise and fall perfectly alongside the steady drum line. If the verses were consistent and building, then the choruses are where everything becomes that little bit more chaotic with a racket of clashing cymbals and the intense thudding of those drums. A long but great track which delivers a brilliant mid-point to this EP.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is ‘Novemberish’, following on perfectly from the end of the previous track, this one is an atmospheric number with sparse sounds left to flow throughout the entirety of its 2 minutes. 30 seconds in and hushed vocals are added, muffled so as not draw your attention away from the wonderful calm found here.
But that calm is broken with the arrival of closing track ‘On A Cross’ whose swirling, grungy guitar chords and pounding drums open this and remain a notable feature throughout. Harsh lyrical themes are delivered with a strong vocal and gang vocals full of resentment portraying the feelings of the songwriter very clearly here. It’s a fast, loud and heavy track to end this great EP on a very memorable high.
Check out the single ‘Walk With Kings’ below:
To find out more about The Summer War visit their Bandcamp page, their Facebook page or you can follow them on Twitter – @thesummerwar
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