I’m sure you can imagine our inbox at Halfway 2 Nowhere is pretty busy, so it takes quite something for a track to stand out from the crowd. Released on 23rd August, Swindon’s finest GETRZ hit the spot immediately with intro track Insomniac Waltz. In its scant 90 seconds there’s menace enough to keep a narcoleptic awake. There’s a lovely Velvet Underground feel to the keys and a strident distorted vocal; a real insistent statement of intent to open the EP.
Next track She Heard I’m A Dreamer carries on the hard hitting vibe, before moving the tone into a bouncy and jaunty guitar rhythm and a banging hard chorus. GETRZ are full of running it hard through the park music. She Heard I’m A Dreamer is a track that has been released for some weeks and no doubt this is a tune that completely hit the spot at their recent festival appearances including at Truck, Isle of Wight and Y Not.
Next track Annie rather reminds me of the Arctic Monkeys but not in that weary “oh not more Monkeys wanabees” kind of way. The hints are more around the phasing of the song and the way the vocals seem almost too long for the music and overhang the beats.
Theres some tidy grunge going on with this track and I suspect there are some blown eardrums strewn over the mosh pit. Annie is my favourite track as it seems the most tricky track to nail, and nail it they do.
Another impressive thing about this EP comes with the diversity of tunes. If I was asked describe How Do You Think I Feel? I’d suggest almost it sounds a bit Catfish radio friendly, with an earnest vocal and big almost lazy sounding (and lazy sounding doesn’t mean lazy). I’m not surprised that industry insiders rate GETRZ as a band to watch, there’s already a huge swaggering complexity in the music – Think of the Future is a good title for this EP as it is a statement of intent.
Closer Think Of The Future is a more reflective and grand affair; almost Stones in its ambition (Rolling not Roses) with a long harmony chorus, rolling sprawling fuzzy guitar, and a deliciously loose drum and bass before tightening it all up into a squaling guitar solo to close the first act of the song. There’s something of the work of the Libertines at play here and it feels like the band can really get into each other’s heads; so closely woven is the tune.
Confidence and grand dreams are clearly GETRZ’S speciality (as a dyslexic kid I’m not even confident in saying their name out loud) and EP Think of the Future should only be seen as a beginning.
GETRZ are a tempting live proposition and in the North of England there are gigs in Hull and Liverpool (New Adelphi Hull on the 11 September and Liverpool Jackaranda on the 12th) on offer.
Chris R
Photo Credit: Shot By Brock
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