MEAWW's Basement Tapes: Seven Spies are a raucous blend of fuzzy textured rock with shades of Muse & Radiohead
If you're fans of hard-punching, gnarly rock that immediately commands your attention from the get-go, then you should be giving the British band Seven Spies a gander. They're a London trio currently garnering a lot of attention for their style of minimal-yet-monumental rock and they evidently take after some of the best British bands that we've heard in recent times. Think Radiohead, Muse, Royal Blood and the next logical progression after those three would be Seven Spies, their worthy successors.
A three-piece project formed by childhood friends in London, the intriguingly-named Seven Spies are being anything but covert right now. In fact, they're currently poised to unleash their brand of incendiary rock on the world. The band consists of David Blomiley (vocals, guitar, piano), Olly Brown (drums, backing vocals), and a bassist position that is currently a revolving door frequently occupied by old bandmates and musically inclined mates.
Seven Spies' debut single 'Chameleon' just launched last month, and already, there's a lot to be impressed by. Although they wear their influences on their sleeve, they've conjured up an anthemic sound that is entirely their own. The new track features fuzzy, overdriven guitars reminiscent of Jack White and his cohorts, textures and melodies that Radiohead would be proud of, rumbling bass riffs that speak of Royal Blood pedigree, and piercing high vocals ala Matt Bellamy and Jeff Buckley, all tied into one sweet, layered and rifftastic package.
As a track, 'Chameleon' talks about the different masks and personas that we don in our day-to-day lives, as we blend and adapt to different situations and environments. The cannily-shot music video also pays homage to this motif, with constantly variating neon color palettes and moodscapes, shapeshifting in sync with the sinuous music. Check out the track 'Chameleon' below and prepare to be amazed.
But as a song, 'Chamelon' also digs beneath what's merely on the surface. It explores the pressure cooker environment that people often find themselves in as they strive to hide their inner demons and conflicts from the outside world. The cathartic chorus almost comes a triumphant show of defiance against these external and internal stressors, stating they won’t overwhelm or control who or how we want to be. Lead singer Blomiley confides, “The subject of the songs seems to be stuff that has been bubbling away inside of me for a while that I need to get out. I find songwriting massively therapeutic in a way.”
Self-produced by Blomiley and Brown in their bedroom studio and mastered by John Davis (The Killers, Lana del Rey, Royal Blood, Lewis Capaldi, Gorillaz) at Metropolis Studios, what Seven Spies delivers with 'Chameleon' is raw and explosive, yet polished and pristine. We'll be looking out for this band in the future.
'MEAWW's Basement Tapes' is a column that shines a spotlight on undiscovered/underrated musical gems.