Single: tamper - 'A New Fire'

(Photo Credit: Aaron Bernard)

tamper release 'A New Fire'  an exquisite blend of the band's indie and electronica influences.
Using a little-known adage, three weeks absence is a long time when reviewing for WTHBlows. There I was, reasonably enjoying life and looking forward to the exploits of the emerging England team. As I’m writing this, the country has since plummeted off the edge of the political spectrum, closely followed by the beyond-dismal excuse of a collective of professional sportsmen. Still, not to worry eh (I’m very worried), back to the music reviewing lark while temporarily ignoring every news outlet known to mankind.

Luckily, tamper’s combination of atmospheric electronica and gentle indie guitar lines is here to soothe my frayed nerves. The duo set the tone with a series of synth motifs that drift into existence, neatly allowing a gentle beat to drop before laid-back vocals punctuate the increasingly textured music on offer. The sense of forlorn is well matched with the surrounding ambience, never threatening to break out into something overtly challenging, instead providing some sort of warm, comforting blanket for the ears.

At first listen, the lack of an overly-recognisable verse-chorus-verse structure offers a slight surprise. Indeed, despite the prolonged outro, the track is almost over before you know it, leading to repeated listens to fully appreciate its simplistic beauty. Overall, it’s a satisfying, almost dreamlike track that provides a much-welcome distraction from life’s trials and tribulations.

A point to add is that Tamper’s Soundcloud catalogue is well worth checking out, including a number of surprisingly effective covers (especially Foals’ 'Red Socks Pugie'). Certainly another band to add to the WTHBlows watching brief.

Words of DS_Convertible