Exeter's Pattern Pusher Promote Positive Mental Health with Feel Good Retro-Pop Anthem

Joe Day

To write about the people, places, and experiences on offer in this beautiful place is some of the most fun I’ve had in my short life, and I am always excited for the future of music in the South-West I’m a sucker for acts from far-off lands, but home is where the heart is right?

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For every band, there is one single titular element that holds them steadily within their created sonic space. For some it’s a visual element, perhaps a crisp suit donned by the singer, or maybe it’s a quirk like eating fruit mid-set. In the realm of Exeter-based Pattern Pusher, it’s the combined grace and energy of each marked moment in their music, held up by the three pillars that make up its members. Their energetic retro-pop personality has them running in the same lane as contemporaries like Silk Sonic and Vulfpeck, a surefire comparison that will have all boogie lovers salivating at the thought of catching them live as the world opens back up for us.

Their setup is unconventional in a sense. Boasting a simplistic set of drums, bass and keyboard/vocals, it’s difficult upon first impressions to understand quite where they would gain their energy from. Delightfully, the sum of their parts surpasses any expectation: they march a crusade of inspiring, uplifting feel-good music that punches through the muggy wash of post-COVID and reignites the soul. Pushing them to the forefront of up-and-coming acts from this cozy corner of the South West, the band dropped a single for their upcoming album ‘Come Along‘ earlier this year, and now swan in with a second track to hot on the heels of the first.

‘Find The Light‘ sweeps you off your feet with a message of solidarity. It’s bouncy disco-inspired basslines, slipping and sliding about the scales in tandem with the driving force of the steadfast percussion, mesh lovingly with a dreamy mixture of twinkly guitar and supple strings to bring about a dreamy, delectable and propulsive concoction. Founded from the darker moments of Alex Johnstone’s lockdown period, the track offers a loving hand of hope, a promise that with holding onto the lighter moments that come about in the day-to-day, things will turn out just fine. It’s a callout to all those that feel disenfranchised, dismissed, dragged down by the depressing nature of the past year. Soaring vocals from Johnstone pull it all together, Benny G and Benny C holding down the foundations of the track seamlessly, as they have many times before across the 3 year career the trio have shared.

Johnstone says: “This was written at a time when I was feeling down and I couldn’t find the inspiration to write a song, then the words ‘Find the Light’ came to me and the song materialised. I hope that it resonates with anyone who feels stuck in their head and gives them hope to keep going. This is particularly poignant for me right now as I have just lost my father who was my biggest hero and musical mentor and I know he would want me to pick myself up and keep positive.”

Prior to the L-word that held us all captive for the past year, Pattern Pusher has a promising future dead ahead of them. Willing Glastonbury Pilton competition (judged by Michael Eavis), they had the pleasure of playing in front of 8,000 people, supporting Wolf Alice and completing an epic festival season that had them playing the main stages at Bearded Theory and Beautiful Days.

Sifting through their discography settles any doubt that this was sheer dumb luck on their behalf – calling it a strong back-catalogue is a lacking statement. The lads have nothing but talent and heart behind them, and absolutely have what it takes to be making these motions into the industry. It’s a position well deserved. Come Along will surely be the deciding factor in their bright future.

Listen/watch ‘Find The Light’ here: