Rila's Edge - 'Coast'


Exploding out of the starting blocks with barrage of Joy Formidable-esque bombast and electronic urgency, ‘Coast’, the new single from Berkshire five-piece Rila’s Edge, quickly establishes itself as bold, brash and optimistic, before the breaks are applied somewhat and its complexities are allowed to blossom.

A track of two distinct personalities, verses are subtle and subdued, percussion and electronics entwining to create something easy-going and effortless. The chorus however offers up something much richer, more encompassing providing elevating the track far beyond the confines of its understated verses.

And well it might. Harbouring a narrative in which the message is “to push yourself to your full potential rather than 'coast' through life barely getting by”, it seems the track’s anthemic chorus exists as an inspiration to do just that, while its verses serve only to bolster said feelings of anthemia and euphoria.

As such, ‘Coast’ feels like something of a fickle track; its chorus arguably its pinnacle, and, as it should, its most memorable moment. As a result however the less memorable verses do stymy the tracks pace somewhat, and even if they do amplify the impact of the chorus significantly, detract from any sort of consistency on offer.

A bold offering from a band tempering their usual fayre with something slower and heavier, ‘Coast’ is a track that peaks and troughs much like the life it encourages listeners to better.

Words of Dave Beech