New Band of the Day: Cave Painting

Brighton-based Cave Painting are set to release their debut album this month. With their single ‘So Calm’ already receiving plays on Radio One, this album is going to be a big one.

They say things like “atmospheric but not epic” and “not minimalistic but every part counts” about their music. They claim it isn’t in your face but is intended to “breeze” over the listener. These descriptions don’t quite capture their brilliant sound accurately, which is far more upbeat than they give themselves credit for.

Standout tracks from the impending album are ‘Gator’ and ‘So Calm’. Flavouring maracas and glockenspiel over the more traditional bass and drums 'Gator' is a rhythmic joy that acts as the perfect offset to Adam Kane's melodic vocals.

This calm set up continues into the middle of the song when there is a sudden rise in energy when the drums, bass and backing vocals kick in. This change in tempo works well at keeping the listener engaged through the whole song, making it more impressive than Cave Painting themselves might admit.

Gator by Cave Painting

If you’ve already heard ‘So Calm’ you will know just how entrancing it is.This song gives the drums and bass a bigger role which allows Adam’s soothing yet eerie lyrics to control the song. Again there is a break in the middle of this song when the instrumental kicks in with a dizzying reverb loop which breaks the listener out of one entrancement into another.

They fuse these two elements of their sound at the end of their song when the higher pitched vocals prevent you from being lulled into the false sense of calmness the bass generates. In these contrasts you can see why the band is so intent on using dichotomies to describe their sound.

This refusal to let the listener actually become ‘So Calm’ is mirrored in the song’s lyrics. The two refrains “feel so calm in the way you are” and “I’m not wasting time” are juxtaposed to leave the listener with an uncomfortable feeling of restlessness within the calm. And what’s more, Adam’s accent almost makes the chorus “feel so calm in the way you are” sound like “feel so cold in the way you are”.

You won’t regret catching their album Votive Life on the 24^th of this month.

New Band of the Day: Cave Painting

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