By Alex Salisbury
Hartlepool’s own Leopard Rays brought back many lost feelings for me whilst listening to their newest single ‘Need You’.
Thoughts flicked back to those long lost, hot and stuffy, formative summer months of adolescence, where the misguided desire for adulthood and the optimistic hope for a bright and dreamy future still seemed a possibility. (2020’s here and clapping everyone’s cheeks though!)
This track is brimming with youthful optimism in it’s sound, with high-energy riffs and up tempo rhythm throughout, a real aural assault during it’s near four-minute run time. But, hidden behind the upbeat musicality is the cry of a desperate man yearning for that unrequited love of a teenage crush as “I need you more than ever,” is a constant motif of the song ringing throughout for the duration.
The opening guitar licks are rich and lush and build to a frantic pace before the song hits it’s frenetic and lively opening section with energy that continues through to its end. Leopard Rays clearly have a very confident and commanding understanding of indie, with their sound tinged with a hint of alt-rock, and the elements that help make an enthralling and engaging track in the genre.
This single is the band’s first release since this summer’s excellent four-track EP ‘Times a factor, Kid’ (which we highly recommend checking out to!), and if they can continue to produce material of this quality the future sure looks to include plenty of bright spots for Leopard Rays.
Listen to ‘Need You’ here:
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