Wicketkeeper - 'Backwards Again'
Trio Wicketkeeper return with a mellowly emotive new single, ‘Backwards Again’, from their upcoming album Zambroni.
In ‘Backwards Again’ it's as if the band is in the room with you. It's easy to imagine the trio strolling up to microphones and guitars in a living room somewhere, taking their time to warm up with the track’s lazy opening riff. You can almost see them stretching out fingers and cracking joints while they pluck at random guitar strings in the brief interlude before they switch tack and suddenly introduce deliciously crunchy guitars and hazy vocals.
‘Backwards Again’ sees Wicketkeeper, made up of brothers Simon and Alex Morley, and Ryan Oxley, balance unpredictable guitar melodies with soothing vocals. Adding colour to the meaning behind the song, Simon explains “life can be overwhelming, and this song is about guiding yourself and your friends through those times when your head doesn’t feel quite right.”
It's this tenderness and care that shine through in Simon’s lyrics as he works his way through the days of the week noting how the “mornings take their toll”. ‘Backwards Again’ is far from being a despondent song, instead it feels comforting and light. This brightness is primarily brought by Oxley’s luminescent guitar melodies, which imbues the easy going track with a sense of positivity. The resulting duality of sound radiates the sense that all will be well.
The track is the slow-burning opener from forthcoming album Zambroni. While the project is pegged to be more dynamic and melodically rich than its predecessor, it retains its DIY roots. When faced with the problem of distance, partly caused by lockdowns and partly by band members moving apart to different cities, the trio took to learning how to record from home studios. Their newfound skills brought unlimited possibilities for the band to experiment, with ‘Backwards Again’ acting as a small slice of what's to come.
Zambroni is due on 22nd September via the band’s own Umpire Records.
Words by Ella McLaren
