April 11th 2011
Francesca Baker
Whilst it may indeed be all about the art, some recognition is nice. Who hasn’t secretly envied the popular kid at school? Spring Offensive then, shot themselves right in the jacksy with their prevous single ‘Dreams About Monsters (Part 1)’, a 14 minute ‘concept’ song inspired by Dr Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ theory of the Grief Cycle. An epic and sometimes cryptic song that ‘grabs the heart, swooping up all cognitive abilities’ it was indeed certainly more ambitious than it was accessible smacked just the wrong side of pretension for some people. New single ‘A Stutter And A Start’, apart from clocking in at only three minutes long, takes some of those best moments that characterise Spring Offensive – intelligent lyrics, yearning vocals, and a broken approach to song structure, with Pelham Groom’s strident drums adding a forlorn anchory.
This well sculpted track opens with bristling stroking of the fretboard, before evolving into a simmeringly melodic exploration of the break-up of a relationship. Never fear though, Spring Offensive certainly haven’t gone down the cock-rock or teenage hormonal rant route, and the band state that ‘A Stutter and Start’ ‘is about breakdown in every sense of the word: communication, the car (referenced in the journey) and the relationship. But we try and make it sound triumphant, rather than the cowardly act that it actually is.” Twiddling riffs track the turbulent emotions, finally giving way to indeed triumphant riffs that drag all elements of the song together like the sun’s gravitational pull.
Ever keen to add the quirky element, in order to thank fans who fanbase who contributed a more-than-generous amount for their pay what you like acoustic EP ‘Between Me & You’ (which was strictly only available for just one week in February), the band have credited their names on the physical artwork. In addition, and hopefully not lost in this mp3centric world (it is still mp3s right?) the cover and sleeve is a lovely black & white booklet, complete with a pack of colouring pencils for fans to customise. This involvement of the fans replicates something that comes in the music, and indeed live Spring Offensive do not play to the audience but invite them into a kaleidoscopic sonically alluring experience. ‘A Stutter & A Start’ is an invitation to Spring Offensive that
should see more people taking up the offer. IAH likes a lot.
