Guest review by The Underground venue manager Lee Barber
Black Coast. The name is a familiar one to many, and yet still they put out music which lands with a distinct freshness, and the band’s new self-titled EP is no different.
REAL (Are You Listening?) draws on energy from a trademark haunting guitar riff opening before dropping into heavy chords and quick paced melodic drum beats, while Hewitt preaches his sermon with sheer angst and some hard hitting honesty, and before you know it you are taken hold of once more by Black Coast and there’s nothing you want to do about it.
You revel in songs such as the stomping and structured Chains, and the smoothness of Sex, leaving you certain that Black Coast are a band shifting through the gears with swiftness in their approach to song writing, assured as they are of their place in the world, and with this record we are gifted a glimpse into just that. Their world. And if they continue to drop records such as this, then it surely is their world for the taking. The EP closes with another of Black Coast’s signature sharp guitar riffs, hard hitting drum and bass and Hewitt’s powerful vocals, pain and suaveness etched in every word with equal measure.
Black Coast music muses on vocalist Charlie Hewitt’s thoughts on how he’s let others see himself: “It can be a struggle not to just introvert yourself so much that you let no one in at all. The music is about trying to break down those self-imposed barriers. It’s about learning to cope when feelings of self-loathing creep in and how I’ve grown within myself as my mind and life change.”
As Hweitt reflects on the meaning behind the EP and his own journey towards it, you can’t help but feel the emotion in his lyrics, in his vocals as you listen to the collection of songs which are undoubtedly the band’s finest piece of work to date.
Produced and mixed by Sam Bloor at Lower Lane Studios, and mastered by Grant Barry at Fader Mastering, Black Coast’s self-titled EP is out April 28, with artwork by Joe Berisford. The band will celebrate the release with a launch party at The Underground, Hanley on April 29, with support from Rituals, Cut Short and Doomsday Sun. Tickets are £8 and can be purchased here.
Listen to Black Coast’s self-titled EP here:
Read more:
- ‘A cacophony of chaos’ – Black Coast release nu metal single Chains ahead of self-titled EP
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