Label: Venn Records
By Toby Furlong
Northampton’s own thistle. are tapping into a sound long forgotten with ‘it’s nice to see you, stranger‘ . Their newest EP captures a perfect storm with a visceral blend of shoegaze, hardcore and indie rock.
thistle.‘s newest release begins as it means to go on. ‘cobble/mud’ is a surreal outpouring of ooze and overwhelming determination, Cameron Godfrey’s fuzz driven thrash guitar wrestles for control over drummer Lewis O’Grady’s relentless pounding.
The opening track leaves no stone left unturned and, beneath the river of sludge, there is space for Godfrey to confess: “clouds turn grey, but I still think you are the prettiest” and “heavy water soaks my head”.
Speaking ahead of their EP’s arrival, frontman Cameron Godfrey revealed: “We’re all super proud of all of the songs on this and it’s taken a lot for us to end up with the final project, with many obstacles on the way, as there are for many bands that have to balance their jobs, family life and mental health. I think the struggle shows in the music. Hopefully in a good way.”
Thundering onwards with title track ‘its nice to see you, stranger’, which is in equal parts introspective and jaded, it is only the primal drumming that keeps the head above water as thistle. face dropping below the murky surface.
Like a run-away-train ‘holy hill’ ups the ante, driving guitar, motorik drumming- an aural assault finally surrenders and for a more muted twenty seconds you can finally breathe.
The EP concludes with ‘wishing coin’, which brings the curtain down on this rabble-rouser and is the perfect distillation of the potential that thistle. have as a group. It is a perfect closing statement for a band that never risk wallowing in defeat.
With opportunities such as Left Of The Dial festival to come, and a European tour in their sights, thistle. have the talent and the urgency to establish themselves as an essential name in British underground music.
Listen to ‘it’s nice to see you, stanger‘ here:
Catch thistle. at the following:
July 11th – The Black Prince, Northampton (w / Bdrmm)
July 19th – The Garibaldi Hotel, Northampton
July 20th – The Old England, Bristol
August 26th – The Hug & Pint, Glasgow*
August 27th – The Louisiana, Bristol*
August 28th – The Windmill, Brixton*
September 2nd – La Mécanique Ondulatoire, Paris, FR*
September 3rd – Witloof Bar, Brussels, BE*
September 4th – MTC – Cologne, DE*
September 5th – Turmzimmer – Hamburg, DE*
September 6th – Lark – Berlin, DE*
October 24th-25th – Left Of The Dial Festival, Rotterdam
*supporting Cryogeyser