This Way Up
Indie band This Way Up were good enough to get in touch
about their music to see if I wouldn’t mind having a listen to their stuff.
Normally I don’t really go for Indie bands, I’m far more into the heavier side
of things. That said, I went into their EP ‘The Game’ with an open mind to see
what they’d come up with.
Another Night opens bouncy and happy, the drums adopting a jumpy beat and the guitars matching the beat creating a bigger sound than I’d expected. Catchy from the outset, this (to me) is party music – it’s inoffensive and creates a nice atmosphere. Typically with Indie I often think the live show is better than the recording but in this case I enjoyed this track, it’s got qualities of early punk as well as the more standard indie approach which creates this mish mash of easy to listen to solid music.
Something follows on as the second track, opening much softer this time purely focusing on the vocals and bass to start with. As the guitars kick in the track takes on an almost Supergrass sound, keeping simple but combining all of the elements together to create yet another catchy and easy to listen to track. What struck me with this track was the different layers the band have put into their recording – the chorus is massively deep with layers of instruments – I was genuinely struck by the contrast between the sections of the track. Leading into third track This Human Race, the tone changes and suddenly there’s a much more emotional edge to the music. Opening with picked guitars and bass, this track is one which will make you sit back and think. As it progresses, the guitars and vocals work together over a simple drum beat to create an emotionally charged meaningful track, again not something I expected. This is my favourite track off of the EP without a doubt, there’s something about it which is quite moving, definitely worth a listen.
Final track The Game opens much more bouncy and happy once again, regaining the sound the band created early on in this EP. The guitars are more jumpy than before on this track and seem to rove around the neck playing notes which you don’t expect to come up but which work. This track is catchy – make no mistake of that – after a couple of listens I found myself humming along to the melody and tapping my feet to it. Finishing with a solo which will make you sit up and listen, this track ends the EP on a high and leaves you wanting a bit more.
If you like metal, this EP probably won’t be for you. That said, after going into it open minded I’ve found myself quite enjoying listening to it as a change from the norm. I suppose you could look at this as stereotypically indie at times, but there are elements here which go beyond that to create a much bigger and deeper sound. There’s a lot here to check out and I firmly believe these guys could be on a winner providing they don’t change their style!
To find out more about This Way Up, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Another Night opens bouncy and happy, the drums adopting a jumpy beat and the guitars matching the beat creating a bigger sound than I’d expected. Catchy from the outset, this (to me) is party music – it’s inoffensive and creates a nice atmosphere. Typically with Indie I often think the live show is better than the recording but in this case I enjoyed this track, it’s got qualities of early punk as well as the more standard indie approach which creates this mish mash of easy to listen to solid music.
Something follows on as the second track, opening much softer this time purely focusing on the vocals and bass to start with. As the guitars kick in the track takes on an almost Supergrass sound, keeping simple but combining all of the elements together to create yet another catchy and easy to listen to track. What struck me with this track was the different layers the band have put into their recording – the chorus is massively deep with layers of instruments – I was genuinely struck by the contrast between the sections of the track. Leading into third track This Human Race, the tone changes and suddenly there’s a much more emotional edge to the music. Opening with picked guitars and bass, this track is one which will make you sit back and think. As it progresses, the guitars and vocals work together over a simple drum beat to create an emotionally charged meaningful track, again not something I expected. This is my favourite track off of the EP without a doubt, there’s something about it which is quite moving, definitely worth a listen.
Final track The Game opens much more bouncy and happy once again, regaining the sound the band created early on in this EP. The guitars are more jumpy than before on this track and seem to rove around the neck playing notes which you don’t expect to come up but which work. This track is catchy – make no mistake of that – after a couple of listens I found myself humming along to the melody and tapping my feet to it. Finishing with a solo which will make you sit up and listen, this track ends the EP on a high and leaves you wanting a bit more.
If you like metal, this EP probably won’t be for you. That said, after going into it open minded I’ve found myself quite enjoying listening to it as a change from the norm. I suppose you could look at this as stereotypically indie at times, but there are elements here which go beyond that to create a much bigger and deeper sound. There’s a lot here to check out and I firmly believe these guys could be on a winner providing they don’t change their style!
To find out more about This Way Up, check out their Facebook page HERE.