There’s one way to work out if your music is worth making and if you really have fans – ask them to contribute to the costs. People will only put their money where their mouth is when it really matters, which is why Pledge music has helped numerous bands make records that may not otherwise have happened.
Secret Rivals have recently hit their target and promised numerous  handwritten lyric sheets, house party gigs and personalised acoustic tracks, but before they head in the studio to record debut album Just Fall, they have this treat, a free download of Everything I’ve Lost.
Energetic angst abounds, bubbling under the surface and ready to break free, much like the band themselves. Over the last few months there have been numerous signs that this is a band about to break, in the form of Steve Lamacq, Sky Sports, Tom Robinson and Amazing Radio, and the more people that hear this sublime example of their C86 pop, the more likely it is to happen.

Passion unravels over spirited drumming, the interplay of vocals a convincing portrayal of the fireworks of a disintegrating relationship. Pummelling away on the bass, new member Andy slots perfectly into the Secret Rivals jigsaw. Secret Rivals magic lies in their juxtaposition of sweet and sordid, the ongoing volley of the violent and the whimsical and throughout Everything I’ve Lost the melody flirts with anomie underpinned by something less optimistic in sound.
Head down to Oxford’s Wheatsheaf for the launch gig on September 22nd or catch the band at the Buffalo Bar on the 25th as part of an Oxford Showcase and make sure you download the track here.