just fall – and so she thinks

Secret Rivals – These Are Only Obstacles

admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:14:24 +0000

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCZgJq4JUFs]
The new video, from album Just Fall.

Secret Rivals – Just Fall

admin — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:27:08 +0000

‘What a way to spend a weekend, well some fucking best friend you’ve turned out to be…too readily swallow the same lines, well not this time’
They say that troubled souls make great artists. Both are true of Secret Rivals. Just Fall is their snappy ten track album, funded by fans as part of Pledge Music campaign last year, and is a perfect summary of their sound. From the flickering flux at the start if I Know Something, to Jay’s yearning vocals on Just Fall, this is an album boarding on exorcism. The soundtrack to the moment when you’re gazing into what you thought was concrete and forever and it all starts to fade, yet actions and reactions don’t quite correlate in the way you want them to, as oscillating vocals between Clouds and Jay jump over exploratory fretwork and punky riffs. The guitars and drums clatter and flurry, sonically displaying two emotions simultaneously yet indiscriminately, and the vocal reaction seems to be one that straddles a flashing toothy grin and tears rolling down the cheeks. Feisty as ever, there’s a tinge of vulnerability underneath this rambunctious fury.
Anyone who knows the band will be familiar with the tracks on here, I Know Something, Panic/Don’t Panic, Once More With Heart and Everything I’ve Lost having all been released before. Just Fall sounds like band growing up, a cathartic output. There comes a point when bands evolve and develop, and Secret Rivals seem to be teetering on that edge. ‘These scars show everything I’ve lost’ sings Clouds – and that marks the end of it. A fantastic album, and I hope Secret Rivals take the best of it with them for the future, but now it is time to move on; not fall but fly. Besides, These Are Only Obstacles.

Upcoming gigs
———————————————————————————————————————
6th April @ The Barfly, Camden, London
11th April @ The Cellar, Oxford
16th April @ Buffalo Bar, Islington, London
—————————————————————————————————————————

Secret Rivals – Everything I've Lost

admin — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 09:00:30 +0000

Released September 24th

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.