’…the band’s most accomplished and complete take on their sound to date…’
After two solid singles last year, Brighton alternative rock act Clean Shirt have returned once more, with an excellent new track. ‘Swaying’ by far represents the band’s most accomplished and complete take on their sound to date, feeling like the moment at which this already impressive band has truly nailed what their vision for Clean Shirt is.
Surprisingly, the track opens in a simple enough fashion. Chugging pop-punk chords play out over bouncing, energetic rhythms, and simple yet powerfully executed melodies that compel you to sing-along. The choruses in particular are huge, brimming with a fierce defiance, and the band could have easily maintained this for three minutes or so and called it a day there.
Yet Clean Shirt aren’t ones to simply retread what’s been done before; across all releases, there’s been a clear attempt by the band to make their songs feel like they are truly theirs, and no moreso is that the case than with ‘Swaying’.
The tracks twists in upon itself at the half way mark, slowing the pacing yet losing none of the momentum as off-kilter percussive rhythms rattle out beneath a far more shoegaze tinged arrangement of guitars. Here, the vocals slip into a distant spoken word segment, almost as if to be the sonic representation of being lost in thought, rehearsing how to finally cut out that one toxic individual that has lingered in your life.
It’s a fascinating and compelling twist for a track that easily could have been a solid pop-punk banger, and enables the final chorus to feel even more electrifying, as the track ramps things up once more into a celebration of a closing segment. Clean Shirt have a real knack for balancing ambition with accessibility, and as they continue to develop as a band, this only seems to get better and better.
Another essential outfit for those wanting to stay in the know on what’s good in the indie world.
For Fans Of: Crawlers, NewDad, Labyrinthine Oceans, Paint Me In Colour, Paramore
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