Balancing Act - 'Before I Shoot'
Balancing Act to release new single, ‘Before I Shoot’, just weeks before their next two live headline shows in London and Manchester.
Vocalist Kai Roberts and guitarist Jackson Couzens first met in Manchester whilst working on separate projects. They both quickly bonded, and they both felt that they had “hit a wall in Manchester, both musically and personally […] It wasn't offering what we wanted anymore, so we packed up and moved to London”. And when the duo moved to London they completed their quartet with newest members, bassist David Carpenter and drummer George Le Page.
With Balancing Act’s 2022 debut EP, ‘Malice in Tone’ which gained them a place featured on DORK Magazine 2023 Hype List. Balancing Act received high praise from ‘Dead Good Music’ and ‘Backseat Mafia’ who rated the EP at a ‘9.5/10’ which is the highest score they have ever given, and they remarked “it's almost hard to accept this is a debut, such is the maturity and talent within the song writing". Then they appeared on the BBC Radio London with Alice Dale for her evening show where she played their single, ‘Gift Shop’ and interviewed Kai and Jackson, and then being mentioned by Amazing Radio who added the song, ‘The Saddest Song I Ever Did Write’ to their C-List playlist. When they finally played their sold out headline EP release show at The Hope & Anchor in Islington
But since then, they have been collating praise, drawing listeners, and making their next moves, and their first step in the next direction comes from their latest single ‘Before I Shoot’. If their EP ‘Malice in Tone’ reflected leaving the old, then the new single is an introduction to the new.
The new single, ‘Before I Shoot’ is about being on the back end of a bad breakup where no-one feels understood or heard. Vocalist Kai Roberts states that “during the time I wrote this, I felt quite down and angry at the world, I had come out of a very rose-tinted headspace.” And guitarist Jackson Couzens further shares that ‘Before I Shoot’ started out as quite a catchy and upbeat song, which you can still hear but it didn’t feel like the Balancing Act. He continues, “We knew there was a song in there, so we chased it down the rabbit hole until we got to this driving, wonky and somewhat relentless sound. You start in one place and then find yourself somewhere completely different.”
‘Before I Shoot’ is produced by Richard Woodcraft who has worked with Radiohead, Paolo Nutini and the Last Shadow Puppets. The new single is a showcase of Balancing Act’s innate knack for song writing. When asked about the inspiration, Roberts says the “dynamic and atmospheric, ‘Before I Shoot’ marks a turn towards sonic grandeur and maturity. Having now completed their first run of live shows and settled into their final line-up, their latest venture is distinctive and authentic and opens the door to the beginning of Balancing Act’s next chapter.”
Words by Beth Simms
