an unexpectedly beautiful and heartbreaking track. The fuzzy blend of grunge and pop rock, with its funky bass lines and huge guitars, belies lyricism that is weighted with a powerful melancholy
From the get go, Clean Shirt have sounded like a band that have been around for years. Their debut single, ‘Fools View’, only released earlier this year, but showcased a band that has worked incredibly hard on finding their signature style and sound. Reception has proved positive, with some well deserved radio play on BBC Introducing.
Things are sure only to improve even further for Clean Shirt, however, with their sublime new track feeling like the true beginnings of a band that could go very, very far.
‘Clouded’ is an unexpectedly beautiful and heartbreaking track. The fuzzy blend of grunge and pop rock, with its funky bass lines and huge guitars, belies lyricism that is weighted with a powerful melancholy and vulnerability, grappling with the need to keep up appearances when it feels like your entire world is crumbling.
It’s incredibly potent, aided by a righteously bitter vocal delivery that perfectly encapsulates those intense emotions, whilst also managing to pull out some fantastically catchy melodies along the way. The choruses are quite simply begging to be played in a live environment.
All of this is delivered soaked in a nostalgic tone. From those aforementioned walls of crackling guitars, to the popping percussive lines that adds a gentle amount of danceable energy to the shoegaze stylings of much of this track, there is a real bittersweet youthfulness about it all, as if it’s soundtracking the best coming-of-age movie you’ve never seen. On VHS, no less.
As a fan of their debut single, this track even caught me off guard in terms of just how delightful it is. Clean Shirt aren’t just a ‘good’ band; Clean Shirt feel like a necessary band, an outfit with a special talent for making nostalgia feel relevant. Keep a very, very close eye on this band; you can’t ignore this kind of star quality for long.
For Fans Of: October Drift, Bella Wright, M83, Ocean Grove, Arctic Monkeys
Featured photo credit belongs to @hattieshake_.
Follow the band on social media via the links below:
VINYL FANTASY REVIEWS 
Leave a comment